The first of the new Parklife grassroots football hubs in England, which utilise 3G artificial pitches, was unveiled in Sheffield last Wednesday morning (October 26).
FA chief executive Martin Glenn was joined by Sports Minister Tracey Crouch, Sport England chairman Nick Bitel and Lord Mayor of Sheffield Denise Fox to officially open the hub at Graves in Sheffield.
The programme is The FA’s plan to address what they term as 'poor facilities' in grassroots football.
Glenn also used the opportunity to announce plans for a national expansion of Parklife - which will see multi-pitch football hubs built across England’s urban heartland over the next five years with The FA, alongside the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), the Premier League and local partners, set to invest £200m in the project.
Wednesday marked the start of a three-month bidding process for local authorities to submit expressions of interest to be part of the programme, with planning applications already approved for Parklife hubs in Liverpool and west London.
In Sheffield, the city council made significant financial contribution to the construction of three sites. In addition to Graves, in the south of the city, a further site has opened in Thorncliffe to the north with Westfield in south east Sheffield due to start construction next month, subject to final approvals.
Martin Glenn, Tracey Crouch MP, Nick Bitel and Greg Clarke at the unveiling of St. George's Park Sheffield Graves
Glenn said: "The FA is committed to football for all - through significant investment in pitches, facilities and participation programmes. The Parklife Football Hubs Programme exemplifies this.
"We have a marvellous facility here - and it is the start of something very special. As Parklife expands nationally, it will mark the end of a story all-too-familiar to the grassroots footballer of poor pitches, woefully inadequate changing facilities and a battle against the elements to get fixtures completed each winter."
The first two hubs at Graves and Thorncliffe will host league matches for up to five resident clubs, played on 3G artificial grass pitches (AGPs)
The centres are fully accessible, present opportunities to play flexible forms of the game and are available for use by other sports. They are run and maintained using a self-sustaining model through the establishment of a newly formed Sheffield Football Trust. Leisure facilities operator Pulse will be responsible for day-to-day operation of the facilities having won the contract through competitive tender.
The Parklife model supports The FA’s priority of giving every child that wants to play football access to a qualified coach and supports the recruitment and development of referees and volunteers to ensure a high quality playing experience.
"Better football facilities are crucial to help strengthen the sport at the grassroots and that is exactly why the government is backing this project with funding," explained Crouch.
"This state-of-the-art facility will be a big boost to community football in Sheffield, with the all-weather pitches perfect for year-round use as well as for developing talent and coaching young people in the city. I want to get more people involved in sport for the positive impact it has on people's lives and partnerships such as this one, bringing together The FA, local authority and government, can help achieve that."
