NEWS
SISIS and Staffordshire FA introduce the feel-good factor
Waterhouses FC is the latest grassroots football club to benefit from the new partnership between Dennis, SISIS, Campey Turfcare and the Staffordshire Football Association. This partnership will be a key component in the Football Association’s goal of improving a total of 20,000 grass pitches across England over the next decade. Gareth Thomas, Commercial and Partnership Lead for Staffordshire FA, revealed how partnerships with such companies are integral to achieving this goal. “We are measured by participation, so we are tasked by the government and the Football Association to 20 | TURF MATTERS | MAY-JUNE 2022
get more people playing football. The reality is, if clubs have not got good, quality surfaces to play on then people won’t want to play. “Already we have seen a huge improvement from the clubs who have made the most of the funding by purchasing the right equipment. Working with the likes of SISIS helps to make our programme as impactful as it possibly can be.” Waterhouses FC, based in North Staffordshire, plays a large part in the local community and is home to many teams ranging from Under 8’s upwards. The pitch improvement project has been driven by Waterhouses Parish Council and David Stone – Chairman, and Chris
Hinton - Clerk to the Parish Council, explained why it was so important. “Since 2008 the maintenance of the pitches has been down to the Parish Council, but with five villages within the parish, and with so much to do, it has been difficult to juggle everything,” said David. “As a result, the pitches suffered and now we want to improve them. The facilities here are certainly worthy of that.” Chris added that from his experience rom experience he knew just how hard it is to find good pitches to play on when the bad weather hits. “Quite often, teams will end up on a 3G pitch which costs a
