Basketball club with no home is UK's second largest

Just over a decade after reforming, an amateur basketball club has grown to become the UK's second largest in terms of membership.

Abingdon Eagles currently have more than 20 teams, including those for boys and girls, as well as a walking basketball side for older players.

Steve Claringbould, the club's head coach, said "more and more kids want to play" the sport - which first began in the United States in the late 19th century.

He said his dream for the club was to become a charity, so it could raise enough funds to build a dedicated home of its own.

The club's different teams currently train at six different sites spread out across south Oxfordshire, including those in Wantage and Didcot, as well as Abingdon.

"We simply haven't got enough facilities," Claringbould said.

"This time of year we get kicked out those facilities for exams for at least a month and that's our biggest challenge, as well as the cost involved which is enormous."

Claringbould was first asked to resurrect the Abingdon Eagles in 2015, from which point it has "grown year in year out".

"The demand is huge - I get inquiries virtually every day in the club and it all goes back to our original philosophy which was inclusion," he said.

"We aim to provide opportunities for everyone to play basketball and in ten years we've managed to do virtually everything that we set out to achieve."

He said the recent news that the club was adjudged to be the UK's second largest in terms of members by Basketball England had come as "quite a surprise".

In terms of next steps for the Eagles, Claringbold - who runs the club in his spare time whilst travelling the globe as a commercial airline pilot - had one main focus.

"My biggest dream for this club is to have a legacy a permanent home and from that we could do even more for the local community," he said.

The Eagles currently operate purely on subscription fees from members, and do not have any sponsors.

Claringbold said: "Our journey now is to really look at becoming a charity to then attract more funding, attract sponsors and find a way of creating this venue."

"Even if I just had a roof and a court and some lights and a little bit of heat maybe, I'd be very happy - anywhere I could just call our eagle's nest."

"Fingers crossed one day - we're working hard for that."