Junior football has returned to a Dales village after a gap of nearly a decade.
The new Carperby Rovers U9s team is made up of children from the middle of the dale and also from 2 Dales Junior Football Club in Swaledale and Arkengarthdale.
Nick Oliver, from Carperby Rovers, said: “As the number of players vary in different age groups, it can be difficult for each club to maintain teams at all levels and this is an excellent example of clubs working together for the benefit of all.
“In recognition of both clubs the new U9s kit has the yellow of Carperby and the red socks of 2Dales.
The club has also started running mini tots sessions which encourage those below playing age to take their first steps into football in a safe and fun environment.
The sessions are run by John Pickard, the senior team goalkeeper, who Nick said was great with the young players.
Nick added: “In times gone by each village used to have their own team and this was the case in 1950 when Ken Alderson and a few of his friends decided it was time that Carperby had a team to challenge the other villages in the dale, so they formed a club and played in a cow pasture for the first few years until the pitch was developed a couple of years later.”
Nick added that it was a proud moment for Ken when his great grandson Tristan put on the yellow shirt of Carperby for the first time to play for the club he helped to create.
Tristan won the man of the match in a recent game, with those watching saying that his running and energy resembled his great grandad.
