FOCUS ON ALL WEATHER PITCHES

This year, the Football Foundation helped to deliver 40 all-weather, floodlit, third generation (3G) pitches to projects across the country. Able to accommodate an average of 90 hours of playing time every week and unperturbed by changes to daylight hours, our 3G facilities have helped to increase access to community football for hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

NEW FACILITY FIT FOR A KING

The solution came in the form of a £542,284 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund to help build a brand new state-ofthe-art 3G pitch. The site was opened by ex-Tottenham Hotspur club captain and current club ambassador, Ledley King.

The new facility is being used to house several programmes, centred around crime reduction and enhanced disabled footballing provision. It has also helped to forge a highly fruitful partnership with Leyton Orient FC, who run a Football Academy at the site in partnership with CONEL.

The Academy sees students provided with top-quality coaching sessions and has proved to be the catalyst for remarkable success in their inaugural year, with the team crowned Association of English Colleges Football Association (EFCA) League champions. As a result, the team has been promoted to compete in the EFCA Category 1 League during the 2018/19 season, the highest level possible for college academies.

Jonathan Silman, Head of Sport at CONEL said: “These achievements simply wouldn’t have been possible without this investment. The surface has allowed the boys to both play and train more regularly and the impact of this is highlighted by the fantastic performances we’ve seen as a result.

The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL) was in desperate need of a sustainable and reliable alternative to their inadequate natural grass pitches.

“The site has also been a source for huge positivity in the area. For example, the West Lea Secondary Disability School have been using it to deliver disability sports activities and we’ve also seen programmes run by Enfield Borough council focused on the benefits of sports participation in overall crime reduction.”

PARTICIPATION SOARING THANKS TO WINSTANLEY WARRIORS’ NEW 3G

Located in one of the most deprived areas in the country, Wigan-based Winstanley Warriors FC have historically had one of the biggest presences in the area.

However, opportunities for a wide range of target demographics, including female, disabled and veteran football were being hampered by a lack of all-weather facilities.

As a result, the club worked in partnership with the Lancashire FA to secure a £418,714 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund. The investment helped to fund a new floodlit 3G pitch, which caters for 7v7 and small-sided play, and the refurbishment of their existing changing pavilion. It was opened in November 2017 by former FA Cup-winning captain, Emerson Boyce and MP for Makerfield, Yvonne Fovargue.

Since then, the site has enabled the club to develop hundreds of new playing opportunities with the establishment of new female teams, an Over-35s veterans’ team, a walking football team and a number of new mini-soccer sides. The surface is also used to host training sessions for some of Winstanley Warriors’ more senior sides, most notably the Under-18s whose enhanced access to quality training facilities inspired them to become the first team from Wigan to win the Lancashire FA County Cup.

Shaun Rotherham, Chairman of Winstanley Warriors FC, said: “Without funding from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, the strides we have made in footballing participation simply wouldn’t have been possible. We now boast over 30 teams playing in FA-affiliated local leagues, with plans to continue to focus on enhancing our offering to female footballers in the local area.”

As well as providing a training base for other FA-affiliated clubs, including Winstanley St Aidans FC and Hawkley FC, the site has also proved to be a useful facility for Wigan Athletic Community Trust (WACT). The Latics’ charity arm has been able to use the site to deliver a range of community outreach programmes, including Premier League Kicks and ‘Every Player Counts’ sessions for local disabled pupils to access and enjoy football.

And Rotherham suggests this is just the beginning for the new site. He said: “We’ve managed to forge a fantastic partnership with Wigan Athletic Community Trust and they share our determination to create more participatory opportunities. We’re looking to establish our first disabled football team very soon and build stronger partnerships with local community groups to ensure we make the very most of this fantastic facility.”