Due to continuing cost pressures, ASCC is concerned about its ability to continue its operations and has invited LFC Foundation to step in to prevent the much-loved centre from closing, securing its future for staff, centre users and the local community.

The club’s official charity has a longstanding relationship with ASCC and has been permanently based at the centre since 2015. 

LFC Foundation will become responsible for the management and operation of the sports centre, including its staff, with a view to improving the facility to create better provisions and opportunities for the local community.  

ASCC and LFC Foundation have also committed to retaining the identity of the centre, reflecting its importance to the history of community and sports provision in the local area.

The centre will continue to operate as it does now, all current bookings will be honoured and the delivery of existing programmes will continue, including activities and food provision for children during the school holidays.  LFC Foundation is committed to continuing to provide access to the facility on an affordable basis for the local community, further supporting the Foundation’s charitable goals.

LFC Foundation’s longer-term vision is to invest in the development of the sports centre to provide a first-class community facility in the Anfield/Tuebrook area, supporting the legacy of ASCC.

Matt Parish, chief executive of LFC Foundation, said: “We understand how important the centre has been in providing a community and sports offering to the local area for more than 50 years and we are delighted to be able to help to secure its long-term future. Our aspiration is to develop the facility further so it can continue to serve generations in the Anfield and Tuebrook area for many years to come. 

“We are committed to tackling social inequalities in our communities and this transition will allow us to further improve the opportunities and outcomes for all those who use this much-loved centre and who access the Foundation’s programmes now and in the future.”  

Jane Nolan, chair of the ASCC board, said: “We’re delighted to be passing the management and ownership of the centre over to LFC Foundation. In recent years the pressures on our funding have made it very difficult for us to continue to run the centre as we have in the past, and LFC Foundation, a long-term friend and supporter of the centre, were always our preferred partner to take things forward.

“We are confident that their vision and greater fund-raising reach will secure the long-term future of the centre and will allow for development of an even better facility for our local community”.