The Oakleigh Cannons Junior Soccer Club will get a boost, with council plans to upgrade their ground at Jack Edwards Reserve coming true.

Monash City Council recently awarded a grant worth $1 million to Oakleigh Cannons, which will be allocated towards a new synthetic ground and new lighting.

“The grant is something we requested from the Council in the last few years in regards to upgrading our ground facilities in Oakleigh. I can say that we were fortunate enough that they allocated $1 million towards a new synthetic ground accompanied by new lighting, for next year, 2014,” Cannons chairman Kon Kavalakis told Neos Kosmos.

After Monash City Council assessed clubs in need of ground upgrade, the grant was awarded to Oakleigh Cannons due to the large number of juniors it has.

“The Oakleigh Juniors are close to five hundred, and the ground facilities are not sufficient for the juniors to have a good area to play. With the grant, that particular ground jacket is ensured, and the best surface to actually accommodate that large usage is a synthetic ground.”

Kavalakis told Neos Kosmos that the $1 million grant was a huge step for the club.

“For Oakleigh, it’s a huge step moving forward in regards to our juniors’ structure here, because it will assist all the children to play the sport on a good surface and safe surface. And that is imperative these days in any particular junior sport,” he said.

“As a board we are very happy this is happening. It is a great achievement both for the club and the Greek community in general, as the majority of our juniors are of Greek origin,” Kavalakis said.

Works on the Cannons’ new synthetic ground and new lighting will commence in July 2014.