Liverpool CC’s squash team are looking to boost their youth participation numbers by collaborating with the city’s two major football clubs.
Head coach of the organisation, Andrew Breen, believes that recruiting junior players is crucial for the club’s longevity, and the 42-year-old hopes he can bring in more youngsters by working with Everton and Liverpool.
He said: “It’s so tough to grow any minority sport on Merseyside because you’re always fighting football.
“Juniors are the lifeblood of the club and without them, we can’t continue. So, we’re looking forward to working with the LFC Foundation and Everton in the Community to teach kids about squash.
“We’ve done some work with the Foundation before and they’re great. They’re quite keen to promote all sports, so they host specific camps where they don’t play football and it’s a nice thing to be involved in.”
Despite having over 300,000 participants as of 2024, squash tournaments receive very little coverage, resulting in Liverpool CC proudly welcoming elite professionals through its doors during the season.
And whilst Breen acknowledges it’s great for the club, he reckons the lack of awareness within the city is disappointing.
He said: “It’s a shame because we had six of the top 100 players in the world here last month.
“You won’t see that many elite players in any sport competing in a local club.
“We want to continue to grow and make gradual improvements in order to carry on attracting top-level players. And then hopefully one day, we can have bigger courts and more tournaments.”
Breen’s sentiments are echoed by James Mustoe, a member of the team, who hopes the sport’s inclusion in last summer’s Olympics can be the springboard to receive more funding.
He said: “There are teams in the league who consistently have world-class players. For us here, we’ve had the world number 18 play for us, and he’s played the world number four a few times so the standard is unbelievable!
“Hopefully the city can start to recognise the quality the region possesses and can provide us with more funding, especially after squash made the Olympics for the first time.”
Mustoe is a former Gloucestershire youth champion but struggles for game-time in the club’s first team, highlighting the depth of talent on show.
But both were quick to add that the sport’s greatest strength comes off the court.
Breen said: “It’s incredibly sociable. Wherever you are in the world, go and find a squash club and you’ll be set for company.
“The amount of people who have come to this city and made friends by coming here is great to see.”
And Mustoe is proof of his coach’s point.
The 24-year-old said: “It’s far more sociable than any other sport I’ve played. No matter the score, you go for a few drinks after and it’s a great thing to be a part of.
“It’s really helped me settle since I moved up from Gloucester.”
