Founded in September 2019, the Mersch athletes' club has reached its final hurdle: after five years of tireless efforts to secure a permanent training space, the club is now forced to dissolve.

Lack of available training spaces

One of the main reasons behind the dissolution of the Mersch athlete's club is the ongoing struggle to secure a stable training space. In its early months, the association shared a facility with Fit Kanner Miersch in a high school gymnasium in Diekirch. However, following the Covid pandemic and subsequent construction works at the school, the association had to split its activities between two separate gymnasiums.

In 2021, the athletes finally found a more permanent solution in a gym located in Bavigne, Helperknapp. They trained there for four years, but another setback has now arisen: starting this summer, the gym in Bavigne will no longer be available due to planned renovations. Despite their best efforts to find a new location or merge with another athletics club, no solution could be found.

150 members soon to be bereft of their club

In a statement released on Wednesday, 23 April, the club's committee informed its members of the dissolution. "Our human resources are practically exhausted. We see no other option but to dissolve the club," the letter said.

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Around 150 members are affected, including a full-time trainer who will lose their job. Training sessions at Bavigne will continue until the end of the season, which will conclude with the club’s traditional summer gala, now also marking the official end of the association.

Mersch municipality had warned them from the beginning

Lindsay Kelly, president of club, acknowledged that the Mersch municipality had cautioned them from the outset. Officials had warned that their project might be premature, noting that a new sports complex was under construction in Mersch, but not yet ready. In the meantime, the municipality explained they had neither available space nor financial resources to assist the association in securing another location. However, Kelly points out that nobody explicitly discouraged them from founding the club.

In the coming weeks

Starting next week, on 28 April, club members and representatives from the municipality will publicly share their perspectives with our colleagues at RTL.lu. The Minister of Sport has also been informed about the situation and is expected to comment.