Abertillery Excelsiors - Jim Owen Community Space

Aim

Help Us Transform and Expand the Jim Owen Pavilion. Making it a more inclusive, sustainable, and vibrant hub for our entire community.

Who are we?

We are Abertillery Excelsiors, a football club run by a passionate group of volunteers including coaches’ managers and players who are all local residents from the county of Blaenau Gwent, committed to creating a welcoming, vibrant hub for everyone. Our Pavilion is at the heart of the club and community, hosting junior, youth, and senior teams. We’re committed to creating an inclusive, sustainable space that brings our community together through sport and shared experiences.

Why are we crowdfunding?

We’re raising funds to extend and upgrade our Pavilion. After securing planning permission and some initial funding, we are close to making our dream a reality—but we’re not quite there yet. To unlock crucial support from the Football Association of Wales and proceed with the build, we need to increase our match funding by finding another £20k. £12k of which will be match funded by Sports Wales as long as we meet our contribution of £8k. 

Your help will ensure our changing facilities are modern and accessible, and our community space is ready for bigger groups and more events. Our project is eligible for extra funding because it promotes inclusion, sustainability, and community wellbeing—all key criteria for support.

How we’ll spend the money raised

All donations will go directly to the Pavilion improvements which will include:

• Upgrading changing facilities: Accessible showers, toilets, and changing areas
• Extending community space: Providing more room for activities and events
• Sustainability measures: Solar panels, rainwater harvesting, improved insulation
• Building upgrades: Heating, roofing, and electrical systems
   Your support will help meet our match funding target and unlock additional FAW funding to make these vital improvements possible.

Community impact

A transformed Pavilion will benefit everyone—sports teams, families, seniors, youth clubs, and local groups. Our facilities will used for meetings, mental health classes, youth drop in centre, youth club, workshops, fitness classes, celebrations, and more. By expanding and upgrading, we’re ensuring a safe, sustainable, and inclusive space for all for generations to come.

How you can play your part

• Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
• Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
• Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
• Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made