By Ian Townsend
In mid-January a young man from the south coast appeared on Channel 4 show ‘The Undateables’ and triggered a social media frenzy.
This was soon picked up by the mainstream media, particularly tabloid newspapers, and for a moment George Dowell, saviour and owner of Worthing FC, became a national treasure.
There’s a possibility that his work at Woodside Road may lead to similar recognition for his football club in the foreseeable future.
A little over 12 months ago Worthing FC were facing disaster. With debts of £200,000, operating costs of £6,000 a month before factoring in player wages and an average crowd of only 213, the Rebels’ survival hopes looked slim.
The playing budget was cut to zero, the majority of the senior players left for pastures new and all hope seemed lost.
Yet the seemingly impossible happened. Players from the youth team who stepped up to fill the void proved better than those who had left.
They began to climb the table, and by New Year 2015 were up to sixth. They still had no money, but at least they had some optimism on the field.
Enter Dowell, a former Rebel who now had a cause.
Dowell’s story is one which features hope and tragedy in equal measure. A Worthing youth player at 17, he and three friends were involved in a car accident from which three of them emerged virtually unscathed. Dowell, sadly, broke his neck, damaged his spinal cord and was left paralysed from the chest down. Almost six years later he has rebuilt his life and become owner of his local football club, and positively exudes optimism mixed with a dollop of down-to-earth common sense.
Using the compensation money he received after the accident to fuel a Non-League football club might, at first glance, seem a little hair-brained.
But Dowell isn’t a nouveau-rich oligarch (nor a former safe cracker from the north-east of England), and hasn’t thrown money at the team in a search for personal glory.
He has instead invested in the stadium, installing a 3G pitch which has allowed the club both to avoid the usual glut of winter postponements and generate a year round income.
He has also refurbished the off-field facilities, creating a modern café/bar environment available for use – or hire – seven days a week. In addition, he launched a successful crowdfunding campaign which has raised £15,000 to allow the club to refurbish their impressive but decrepit main stand, a project which will be completed in the summer.
The club now look to have firm and sustainable foundations for the first time in many years.
The results of his efforts – and those of his dedicated coaching staff – can be seen both on and off the field.
Attendances have virtually doubled, to the extent that the number of people attempting to visit has caused consternation in local council circles, with frantic appeals to them to park somewhere else other than the streets which surround the ground.
The first team, after a slightly jittery start in Ryman League Division One South, were soon in the top three and seem firmly ensconced in the play-off positions.
But it is perhaps the success of the youth team which has particularly caught the eye, with their progress in the FA Youth Cup only halted in the third round by Under 18s Premier League champions Middlesbrough, in front of a home crowd just short of 1,200.
That 3-0 defeat was disappointing, but when you consider that Boro have a multi-million pound academy and operate six levels above the Rebels, the story tells itself.
An ever-increasing collection of young Worthing prospects have also attracted the attention of the well-to-do elite.
Striker Ben Pope has already spent time with Stoke City, Cambridge United, Norwich City and Bournemouth. Midfielder Harvey Sparks has caught the attention of Swindon Town, Michael Waller and Pat Webber have recently had trials with Ipswich Town, and there are many others deserving of a mention.
The fact that the club recently provided eight members of the Sussex County Schools FA squad which beat Surrey to reach the final of the English Schools FA National Cup is demonstration of the strength in depth.
The town of Worthing has a population of over 100,000, higher than those of towns such as Rochdale, Wigan, Preston, Oldham, Barnsley and even West Bromwich, all of which have been able to support football at a much higher level than the Rebels have ever aspired to. Dowell has talked of an aim of two promotions in five years; promotions which would place the club in National League South. Whilst five-year plans are often spoken about in football circles and almost as often come across as ridiculous pipedreams, you’d have to think that, on this occasion, and if the local populous stirs itself and gets involved, Dowell’s aims could be far from outlandish.
It’s a shame that an intelligent, articulate and likeable young man felt himself undateable. But amongst the football-loving folk of Worthing there’s one thing that’s certain – he’ll never be short of love.
Ian Townsend – www.townsendaround.com
