A JOHNSTONE football club is preparing to launch a new sports academy.

Thorn Athletic has taken over the running of the former McMaster Centre and is keen to get more people involved in sport.

It will reopen the hub as the Thorn Athletic Sports Academy in the coming weeks, with plans in place to increase the club’s football activities, expand coaching to include other sports and deliver an enhanced selection of indoor and outdoor services to the community.

The newly-formed Thorn Athletic Community Trust, which is a registered charity, has brought together a number of people from a variety of backgrounds and with a range of expertise to help drive the new initiative.

It will oversee the running of both the community football club and the academy as a social enterprise.

All existing user groups can continue to operate from the hub, which is based at Thomas Shanks Park and had most recently been operating as the Johnstone Community Sports Complex.

The two sessional staff members will remain in post.

Thorn Athletic, which is the town’s biggest football club, with more than 250 members, also hopes to secure grant funding to upgrade security and improve facilities around the grass football pitch.

During the coronavirus crisis, the club has been busy delivering community initiatives in collaboration with organisations such as Johnstone Community Council and Linstone to support vulnerable groups in the area.

But the opening of its own sports academy is a significant milestone in the club’s history, which stretches back two decades.

Mark McGee, chairperson of the Thorn Athletic Community Trust, told The Gazette: “We are looking forward to opening the Thorn Athletic Sports Academy when it is safe to do so.

“A significant amount of work has gone on behind the scenes to make this happen.

“Our club began in the west Johnstone area more than 20 years ago and we were instrumental in saving this facility 10 years ago. Now we aim to give it a new lease of life in 2020.

“The Thorn is part of the fabric of life in Johnstone now and we are keen to get more people engaged with our organisation.

“We are excited about broadening our horizons with other sports and look forward to working with other groups who share our values to improve people’s everyday lives.”

Read all the latest from Renfrewshire and beyond