Wheatley Park

Wheatley Park in Garforth sits quietly in West Yorkshire, a ground that did not arrive with ceremony but rather as part of a housing development in 1998, replacing a site that had been a council rubbish dump. The capacity of 3,000 is modest, and only 278 seats are covered, leaving the rest to face the elements. The surface is natural grass, cut and ready for the Northern Premier League.

What makes this ground distinct is not the architecture, but the occasion that brought a legend to its touchlines. In 2004, Sócrates, the captain of Brazil's 1982 World Cup side, came off the bench for his debut in a Northern Counties East League match against Tadcaster Albion. He was brought in by owner Simon Clifford as part of a project called Brazilian Soccer Schools, and roughly 1,350 fans turned out to watch him come on in the seventy-seventh minute. Other Brazilians like Careca have visited for friendlies.

The name on the signboard changes with the wind. For years it was the Genix Healthcare Stadium, then the Supply Chain Network Community Stadium, and now the Bannister Prentice Stadium.