THEY were the men who helped the Carlisle City Sunday League grow beyond all recognition.

And now the amateur footballers who played in the popular competition from the 1960s onwards are being invited to come together and share their memories.

A new initiative, named The Goal-den Generation, aims to reunite many of the men who played Sunday football around the city in previous decades.

The man behind the project, Pete Scholes, says he hopes as many people as possible will join in.

Pete said: "It started with a conversation with my dad - he's in his early 70s now but was quite a good player in his time, and having grown up in Upperby he was involved with some local teams.

"The Sunday League started in the 1960s with about 10 teams but it has since grown beyond all recognition.

"My dad was talking about someone he had met recently from those days and myself and a friend decided to run a project to bring all these guys back together from the 1960s, 1970s and even 1980s.

"Some of them have sadly passed on but there are still quite a lot out there."

Pete said funding has been secured from the People's Health Trust and the Big Lottery Fund to run the project.

The first event will be held at the Royal Scot in Morton next Friday, March 18, with entry free and food provided.

Pete said he hopes former players will come along, share stories and bring any old photos and newspaper cuttings from their Sunday League heyday.

Family members of players who have since passed away are also welcome, he said.

"We are hoping to run more social events, including a big one at the end of the season and maybe a game of walking football," he added.

"We are also intending to put a book together for people. We will be inviting them to fill in questionnaires about their time in the Sunday League, and a website is also in the process of being set up.

"It is all about getting the message out and getting people together."

Pete said he has discussed the possibility of Carlisle United helping with the project, having spoken to fans' representative Claire Winder and community sports trust boss John Halpin.

For more information contact Pete at scholespeter@hotmail.com or 07921376550.