MORE than 60 young football fans are helping to dispel the unemployment blues in Weardale.

At the same time they are sowing the seeds of a strong community spirit that has seen dales people overcome trials and tribulations for centuries.

The Wolsingham Football Academy was launched in 1999 with only a handful of youngsters turning up for training sessions at the town's recreation field.

Today it boasts a membership of more than 60 children from all over the dale and beyond and has a growing waiting list.

But the sessions are about more than just football, they are also about discipline.

Any swearing or spitting spotted by the team of qualified FA coaches who run the weekly training sessions, results in the culprit being sent home. It is also about forging strong bonds. After fouls or illegal play, opponents are encouraged to shake hands.

Above all, it is about learning to share resources - a lesson which it is hoped will serve the children well in their working lives.

Academy chairman Mike Cavender, who is recovering after lung surgery, said: "Seeing the academy progress from a modest start to what it is today is the best tonic I can have.

"Everybody has done their bit - the parents, the coaches and the children themselves."

Mr Cavender believes that the "very strong spirit of bonding together and creating something positive in the community" has gone a long way to dispelling the gloom of industrial decline and uncertainty about the dale's future.

Local businessmen have been so impressed with the achievements of the academy that they have been quick to put their hands in their pockets to pay for more equipment.

Wolsingham Parish Council has also given its support to the academy, by allowing the use of changing rooms on the recreation field.