NORTH Yorkshire is to have a new £1.4m sports complex.

A county football association, sports club and district council have collectively provided nearly £400,000 to help form the project.

More than 200 players are expected to become regular users at the complex, just outside Middlesbrough, which should be completed in time for the next football season.

The Stokesley Sports Club and the North Riding County Football Association (NRCFA) have teamed up for the project. Their main source of funding will come from the UK's largest sports charity, the Football Foundation.

The £850,000 grant provided by the charity will help create the complex on the Sports Club site, in Stokesley.

A newly-acquired piece of land will also be developed to provide the clubhouse, incorporating six changing rooms, a social room, two referees' changing areas, an all-weather pitch, four mini soccer pitches and five football pitches.

The remaining funding will be made available from £320,000 worth of grants from the NRCFA, £145,000 from the Football Association, £10,000 from Hambleton District Council and £50,000 from Stokesley Sports Club.

The development will also house the NRCFA regional headquarters. It is hoped the project will be a catalyst for the development of football throughout the county.

Mark Jarvis, chief executive of the NRCFA, said: "We are looking forward to moving to Stokesley where we can fulfil our development plans for the future. The headquarters of the NRCFA has been in Middlesbrough for over 120 years and is now moving to a more central location for the county."

The project will develop opportunities for all footballers with a particular emphasis being placed on players from rural communities, female players and those who have disabilities.

The club will also host a number of county projects and festivals and establish ties with local schools.

The charity's chairman, Peter Lee, said: "Our congratulations go to Stokesley Sports Club and to the NRCFA for the truly inclusive nature of their proposals.

"Footballers of all abilities deserve the very best the modern game has to offer and this new facility is a blueprint for the future of grassroots football in North Yorkshire."