Footballs from libraries for children over summer holidays

Rio and his friends are never short of a ball for a kickabout at the park as they can have one on loan from the library next door

Most library members take items for a number of weeks - but regular visitor Rio, 11, only needs his for an hour.

It is not that he is a fast reader, but he is borrowing a football not a book.

Running around with friends kicking an item from the library may sound an odd proposition, but it is likely to become a far more common sight across Wales.

There are currently 58 loaning out footballs as part of a scheme, with 400 interested in joining up to the service.

Rio described it as "much easier" to have a kickabout with friends in Glynneath, Neath Port Talbot, by loaning out a football from the library next door.

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Librarian Rhyannon Smith said children start asking questions as soon as they see the ball stand, adding: "When I say that they can borrow a ball their faces show a mixture of shock and excitement."

Some are loaned for just a couple of hours, but others are being used to while away whole days during the summer holidays.

The Wales Social Ball Library Network is the brainchild of not-for-profit ball manufacturer Alive and Kicking.

Its aim is for disadvantaged communities to have equal access to sport, said chief executive Ben Sadler.

"Following a Sport Wales survey in 2022 that found young people were doing less sport than in previous years, we wanted to come together with our partners to identify the reasons for this and then work out what we might be able to do to help address it," he added.

"Having identified barriers such as cost, long travel distances and a lack of sports equipment, the Ball Library programme was introduced and is now giving hundreds of people free access to sport every day."

Riley and Dean are excited about the scheme in Bridgend county

He said it was giving library users "full control of how, where and when they play", with the average participant increasing their weekly exercise by more than three times.

The scheme has been launched this year and initial evidence is that each hub is used by 79 people each week, and these use balls for 117 hours of social play in total.

There are libraries taking part in the scheme in every part of Wales, including Gresford, Wrexham, Builth Wells in Powys, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire and Ruthin, Denbighshire.

At Aberkenfig Library in Bridgend county, Dean Tuck said it was really rewarding to give something back to the community, and the scheme was bringing lots of new people through the doors.

"We are having local families come in specifically to ask for a ball and the children love it," he added.

While it has proved popular during the summer holidays, the footballs could be in far greater demand when term time starts and the word spreads even further.

As Riley, 10, said: "Me and my friends have used it twice, I am going to tell everyone at school."

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