Darlington 21st Allstars are one of the most recognisable clubs in the region and they are also one of the most established after celebrating their 21st anniversary.

With their trademark shirts featuring star-covered sleeves, their eye-catching kits have made them instantly recognisable since they formed in 1991.

The club was the brainchild of coaches Paul Bielby and Tony Cox after their team, the 21st Cubs, had become too old to play in the Cubs league and had nowhere to play.

They have since grown to become one of the best-known clubs in the region with around 20 teams and hundreds of players.

They encompass Under-7s through to Under-21s with most of the teams being based at Longfield School in Darlington.

Last year, to celebrate their 20th year, Allstars held a function at the DSRM in the town where Dave Parnaby from Middlesborough's academy was the guest speaker with Bielby compering. The night was well supported with all teams attending and it raised almost £500 for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

Although the Allstars have won a number of trophies over the past 20 years, they say the focus is on encouraging children to enjoy football in a safe environment.

Club secretary Kev Harland has been with the Allstars for five years and said: "We offer a good level of coaching, but our aim is to get kids off their backsides, off their Playstations and to get them outside playing football in a fun, friendly environment.

"They're not all going to be superstars, but it's about getting them out there to enjoy their football. It's a social thing as much as anything else.

"When you get a diamond you've got to encourage them and hope that they go all the way. We've got a few that are in the youth systems at different professional clubs and as a club you're quite proud that you've been part of their development."

All of the Allstars coaches are at least FA Level 1 qualified while many of their players earn a refereeing qualification.

"A few of the older players help out with some of the coaching for the younger age groups. They're encouraged to get involved in doing referees courses," explained Harland.

"When they get to 14 they can do the referees badges, as do other clubs in the town, as well as the coaching badges."

Allstars have been the first rung on the ladder for a number of footballers, most notably West Bromwich Albion's James Morrison.

A former pupil of Hummersknott School in Darlington, the 26-year-old began his career at Middlesbrough before joining West Brom for an initial £1.5m.

He now has 23 caps for Scotland, having qualified to play for them through his grandparents.

Harland said: "We give all the kids trophies at the end of the season, top goalscorer, player of the year etc, and some of them have his name on.

"So when the kids pick it up, the award means a little bit more when they see his name. It's something to aspire to."

Oxford United forward Tom Craddock is another Allstars graduate, as is Boro youth team striker Adam Jackson and Dan Groves, who made several appearances for Darlington and is now at Spennymoor.

Morrison credits Allstars with giving him his first opportunity to play football, but, like at any grassroots sports club, a committed group of volunteers is essential.

Harland says the Allstars are larger than ever and growing in size each year.

"We never turn kids away if they come to us.

"For instance, we normally run two teams for each age group, but we've got three under-9s teams this year," he said.

"You're only as good as the number of volunteers that you've got and we're very lucky in that we've got some really good quality coaches.

"Everyone's got at least the FA Level 1 coaching badge.

"We've got quite a few people, especially for the younger age groups

"We've got a lady called Jan Sutton and a guy called Kev Airey who've been involved in the club a long time and they take the kids when they first come into the club as under-7s.

"They'll take them for the first year and then pass them on to one of the volunteers, but during that first year we'll establish who wants to take on that age group.

"A lot of people give up a lot of time to run teams, not just with ourselves but at clubs across the town, and I think it's fantastic that people are willing to do that."