TWO more football clubs have announced plans to merge.

Harwich and Parkeston recently confirmed they are joining forces with Dovercourt Vipers.

Now Harwich and Parkeston Youth – completely separate from the Shrimpers – are teaming up with Colchester and District Sunday League side Ramsey Mill.

The move will see them move away from their long-term home at Harwich and Dovercourt High School.

Instead, they will share the facilities at Ramsey War Memorial Hall, at the recreation ground, in Wix Road.

Harwich currently have sides from under-eights through to under-12s.

They hope to add more, with the aim of eventually becoming a feeder club so their best players can play senior football for Ramsey.

“We’re excited by this move and want our players to have a clear pathway into men’s football,” said Harwich Youth chairman Mike Eggerichs.

“We want them to have somewhere to go in later years and hope this move helps both clubs.

“Everyone’s thrilled about it and we feel it could make a real impact in the next five years.”

Eggerichs believes the merger will breath fresh life into his club.

He said they nearly folded last year and were down to one team.

However, officials have been working hard to build the club up again and they now have under-eight, under-nine, under-ten and under-12 sides.

“People may have thought we’d disappeared but that was never the case,” he said.

“Now we want to add more age groups in the coming years, leading into men’s football with Ramsey.”

Ramsey Mill secretary Rob Passmore is equally excited about the move and believes it will help youth football flourish in Harwich.

“It’s wonderful and should prove mutually beneficial for both clubs, in addition to the Ramsey War Memorial Hall (the charity that owns the football club’s facilities),” he said.

“We hope to have some of the best facilities in the area in the next few years and it’ll be great to see them used.

“It’s about community involvement at all levels and hopefully the youth set-up will keep expanding, in the next few years.

“Eventually, we hope it becomes a feeder into our senior sides and it’s great to see youth football flourishing again.”

Ramsey run two adult teams in the Colchester and District Sunday League.

In the next year or so, they also hope to launch a new Essex and Suffolk Border League team.