Wildwood Machinery and the Hampshire FA have announced an exclusive partnership, with the Winchester-based groundcare business set to provide all grounds maintenance machinery and equipment and service back-up. 

Managing director James Bastian says, “This is a moment of real pride for us as a Hampshire-based business. We really feel the prestige of working with the Hampshire FA, who are serial winners of Awards from the Grounds Management Association.”

Isabella Pearson, commercial manager at Hampshire FA, said, “Wildwood Machinery has already brought vital specialist support and expertise to our network of unsung heroes - the groundskeepers and volunteers who work tirelessly to maintain playing surfaces across the county.

“State-of-the-art groundcare equipment and reliable service are so valuable to grassroots and league football clubs. This exclusive partnership is a key part of our objective of raising the standards of playing surfaces across the county”. 

James Bastian added, “The Hampshire FA Partner Network does great work with the sporting community, investing hundreds of thousands of pounds in grassroots football, acting as a hub for the county’s business community, and connecting a wide range of local organisations.

“We are also helping community clubs unlock vital funding for groundcare equipment by supporting them with applications to the Football Foundation,” explained James. “Funding applications can be quite demanding for grassroots clubs, and so we’re very happy to bring our own resources and expertise to the task.”

As part of the agreement Wildwood Machinery offers a reduced hourly labour rate for groundcare machinery servicing and maintenance, and discounted prices on groundcare equipment purchases.