A football club suffering from a shortage of coaches is appealing for volunteers to help out so it won’t have to turn promising young players away.

Ridgeway Rovers in Wadham Road, Walthamstow, the club known for having produced household names such as David Beckham and Harry Kane, says up to 50 children are on the waiting list for teams.

The club founded in 1979 has 20 teams from under 5s to under 18s and won Essex FA’s Charter Standard Development Club of the Year in 2016.

Chairman Ian Marshall said if he doesn’t receive any offers of help, he fears youngsters will give up on their dreams and end up going down the wrong path.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Club chairman Ian Marshall with Tottenham Hotspur player Harry Kane.

“What will happen is we’ll have to tell the kids we cannot facilitate them,” said the 50-year-old who manages the under 14s team.

“They may go to another club but the ones I’ve spoken to are having the same problem as us – not enough volunteers.

“There’s not enough for young people to do as it is and if we can’t get them on a team they’re going to end up hanging around street corners and getting into trouble.

“There’s only one of me and there’s five members of the committee and we are stretched. It’s the same people doing everything. A lot of parents say they just don’t have enough time to help out but I work full-time and volunteer 20 hours a week at this club.”

Mr Marshall, whose sons, aged 14 and 17, both play for the club, is also appealing for people to help with social media, updating the club’s website and organising events and raffles.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Club chairman Ian Marshall.

The Chingford native first started coaching in 2006 when his son played for the under 5s team and took over the running of the club in 2011.

He hopes to open a “boot bank” to recycle footwear children have grown out of by passing them onto younger players, which will save parents cash, and also introduce self-defence training for youngsters.

Mr Marshall said: “We’ve got to a point where we have the accreditations, we’ve got through development club status and it’s a case of us not being able to go any further without more volunteers.

“We don’t get a great deal of help from the FA or the Premier League. I think there should be more money coming back to grassroots football from clubs and the FA.

“If you’re coaching a team and you teach them a method it’s really satisfying to see them use that method. It’s a great way to spend some father-child time and it’s very rewarding to see.”

The club, which runs a soccer school on Saturday at Peter May Sports Centre, is offering to pay for volunteers to be trained as qualified coaches.

For information on how to volunteer click here.