Lionesses Futures fund pitches: Arsenal defender and Lionesses captain Leah Williamson returned to her hometown today to celebrate The Leah Williamson Pitch at Newport Pagnell Town FC, one of the first half of sites to receive Lionesses Futures Fund grants.

This £30m cash injection from the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation was announced last year to recognise the trailblazing success of the Lionesses. The grants will help to provide women and girls across the country with gold standard facilities and experiences, with priority access for women and girls through reserved peak-time slots and welcoming changing rooms.

Since the Lionesses lifted the EURO trophy in 2022, 68,000 more girls are playing football compared to before the tournament. However, too often, badly lit pitches, unsuitable changing facilities and late-night kick-off times put women and girls off taking to the pitch.

To celebrate the Lionesses roaring to victory at the 2022 UEFA EUROs and their achievement of making the final at FIFA World Cup 2023, £25m from the Government and £5m from The FA was committed to supporting the improvement of at least 30 facilities across the country.

The Leah Williamson Pitch is just one of 15 sites across the country from Oldham to the New Forest and Suffolk to Somerset who have been awarded a Lionesses Futures Fund grant. By January 2025 further sites will be in place to provide every women and girl the facilities they need and deserve.

Leah Williamson said:

“It is such an honour to be here to see one of the first Lionesses Futures Fund pitches come to life. Something I know the squad is incredibly proud of. This pitch will provide the very best playing experience for local women and girls, ensuring they can play at decent times and on a state-of-the-art pitch. 

“To meet some of the players who will get the opportunity to lace up their boots to play on this great pitch has been magic!  I feel so proud to be a Lioness and proud of the whole team for inspiring women and girls to play football.”

Robert Sullivan, CEO of the Football Foundation, said: 

“It’s a real pleasure to be here to unveil one of the first 3G pitches that a Lionesses Futures Fund Grant has made possible. For the pitch to be named after local footballing legend Leah Williamson in recognition of the Lionesses recent successes will be incredibly inspiring for the players here at Newport Pagnell Town.

“This Fund builds on the Football Foundation’s biggest ever commitment to providing equal access to grassroots facilities for women and girls.

“Over 8,500 women’s and girls’ football teams were playing at sites that have benefitted from Football Foundation funding last season, whether that be for new goalposts, improved grass pitches or brand-new changing pavilions and 3G pitches.

“Thanks to the funding from the Premier League, The FA and Government, we’re delivering 30 pitches like this across the country to support the growing demand for football we’ve seen following the Lionesses’ inspirational success.”

Sports Minister, Stephanie Peacock, said:

“Thousands more women and girls are playing football since the Lionesses lifted the Women’s EURO 2022 trophy – so building welcoming facilities for them to get on the pitch is now more important than ever.

“As captain of the Lionesses, Leah Williamson has provided leadership both on and off the pitch and this facility in Newport Pagnell will give many more women and girls the chance to follow in her footsteps.”

Notes to editors

About the Football Foundation

The Football Foundation is the Premier League, The FA and Government’s charity that delivers outstanding grassroots facilities, more and better places to play, transforming lives and communities where it is needed most.

The Foundation’s goal is to unlock the power of pitches ensuring every community has a great place to play regardless of gender, race, disability or place.

Since its creation in 2000, the Foundation has invested more than £1.1 billion to improve grassroots facilities across the country – including 1,200 3G pitches, 13,000 grass pitches and 1,500 changing rooms. This has attracted an additional £1.4 billion of partnership funding – totalling over £2.5 billion investment in grassroots football so far.

In partnership with local authorities, County FAs and other community stakeholders, the Foundation has created Local Football Facility Plans for every local authority in England. These Plans act as a blueprint for providing the grassroots football facility improvements that each community needs and deserves across the country.

Visit footballfoundation.org.uk for more information on the Foundation and view the Plan for your local area.

About the Lionesses Futures Fund

To ensure each Lionesses Futures Fund site provides a best-in-class experience for women and girls, they will need to meet the following criteria:

• Provide a gold-standard usage programme for women and girls, including:
  • Social and competitive sessions
  • Youth to adult players
  • Training and match play
  • Talent pathway and/or women’s football pyramid club (where applicable)
• Prioritise access for women and girls through:
  • Women’s and girls’-only evenings
  • Priority booking
  • Peak-time slots
  • Secured usage for long-term growth
• Ensure facilities are female-friendly by:
  • Providing basic sanitary products within the player, coach and spectator changing rooms and toilet areas
  • Keeping the clubhouse, changing facilities and site surroundings well-lit, maintained, welcoming and always suitable and inclusive for all users
• Publicly display the site operator’s strategy to prioritise women’s and girls’ access at the site.
• Guarantee female representation across the site operator’s committees and assign designated women’s and girls’ leads.

To find out more about the Fund, visit the Foundation’s website: https://footballfoundation.org.uk/news/history-making-lionesses-recognised-with-the-lionesses-futures-fund

Lionesses Futures Fund projects:

The following sites have been awarded funding through the Lionesses Futures Fund so far:

AFC Sudbury (Suffolk):

• Funding: A £1.1 million grant for a new 3G pitch at The MEL Group Stadium, home to AFC Sudbury.
• Women & Girls: The new pitch will benefit the Club’s existing 30 teams, ranging from junior teams to their women’s first team, who currently play in Tier 4 of the Women’s Football Pyramid. The pitch will also be used by Ipswich Town Foundation and Norwich City Community Sports Foundation to deliver their community programmes.
• Other activity: The new facilities will host walking football and enable the creation of five new disability teams.

Ashford Town FC: (Spelthorne):

• Funding: A £832k grant for a 3G pitch and the refurbishment of existing changing rooms at Ashford Town FC’s home ground, the Robert Parker Stadium to ensure the facilities are female-friendly and inclusive.
• Women & Girls: The pitch will be home to Ashford Town’s women’s first team, who currently play in Tier 4 of the Women’s Football Pyramid. The facilities will also be used by several local grassroots teams, including Colne Valley Girls FC and Brentford FC Community Sports Trust to hosting training and match play for girls. This will take the total number of women’s and girls’ teams using the site to 18 within five years of the new facilities opening.
• Other activity: Surrey Care Trust and Middlesex County FA plan to use the new facilities to deliver sessions aimed at refugees and introducing people to football for the first time.

Astley Cooper School (Dacorum):

• Funding: A £693k grant towards the refurbishment of an existing 3G pitch at Astley Cooper School.
• Women & Girls: The pitch will be used by local grassroots clubs, Hemel Hempstead Town FC and Hemel Aces FC, who are expected to create nine new female within the first five years of the facilities opening. The school will also host ‘Community Kickabout’ sessions for women interested in playing football casually.
• Other activity: The new facilities will support people living with disabilities and long-term health conditions through pan disability sessions run by Hempstead Town FC as well as people from culturally diverse backgrounds through Dacorum Indian Society.

Benjamin Britten Academy (East Suffolk):

• Funding: A £964k grant to Hartismere Family of Schools Trust for a new 3G pitch at Benjamin Britten Academy.
• Women & Girls: This project will support the largest club in Suffolk, Waveney FC to grow to seven female teams. The pitch will also be used by Ipswich Town Foundation.
• Other activity: Everyone Active will partner with Waveney FC to deliver walking football sessions and with Involve Active to run holiday sessions for people with additional needs. The project will also deliver new cricket nets, which will be used by the school and Lowestoft Cricket Club to build a coaching and player pathway.

Birmingham County FA Football Development Centre (Sandwell):

• Funding: A £623k grant towards a new 3G pitch at Birmingham County FA’s headquarters, Ray Hall Lane.
• Women & Girls: 15 female teams from local grassroots clubs, Walsall Women FC and FC Premier, will use the new pitch. It’ll also be used by Birmingham County FA to deliver Wildcats sessions, female walking football and fitness sessions for female officials.
• Other activity: Within five years of opening, over 350 people are expected to use the new pitch each month for recreational activities, including sessions aimed at preventing anti-social behaviour and supporting people with dementia to get active.

Chadderton FC (Oldham):

• Funding: A £1 million grant towards a new 3G pitch and improvements to the existing car park and changing rooms at Chadderton FC’s home ground, the Firefox Stadium, to ensure the facilities are female-friendly and inclusive.
• Women & Girls: Chadderton FC expect to grow to 14 female teams within five years of the new facilities opening. The pitch will also be used by Oldham Athletic during a women and girls-only evening and will be a central venue for the North Manchester Girls League.
• Other activity: The new pitch will host sessions aimed at helping asylum seekers and people with disabilities and long-term health conditions to get active.

Hickings Lane Recreation Ground (Broxtowe):

• Funding: A £1.4 million grant to Broxtowe Borough Council and Stapleford Town FC towards the refurbishment of the existing facilities at Hickings Lane Recreation Ground, delivering two 3G pitches (one full-size and one small-sided) alongside a refurbished community building.
• Women & Girls: The new facilities will be used by Stapleford’s existing 31 teams and enable the Club to establish an additional nine female teams within five years of opening. The pitches would also host a monthly women’s football festival, run by Nottinghamshire County FA.
• Other activity: The community building will be used various sports other than football, including fitness, dance and yoga classes.

Laurus Ryecroft High School (Tameside):

• Funding: A £748k grant to Laurus Trust for a new 3G pitch and toilet block to ensure the facilities are female-friendly and inclusive as well as improvements to the existing car park and relocation of cricket wickets at Laurus Ryecroft High School.
• Women & Girls: The pitch is expected to be used by over 100 teams within five years of opening, including 19 female teams through Ashton Pumas Girls FC.
• Other activity: The site will enable Curzon Ashton to significantly expand their provision to the wider community by hosting military veterans, disability and mental health sessions, delivered by the Club’s community foundation. The site will also be used for rugby union through Aldwinians RUFC, who already have an existing partnership with the Trust.

Moss Farm Leisure Complex (Cheshire):

• Funding: A £715k grant to Cheshire West and Chester Council & Cheshire FA towards a new 3G pitch and refurbishments to Cheshire FA’s headquarters at Moss Farm Leisure Complex.
• Women & Girls: The site is already a hub for women’s and girl’s football in the area, but these new facilities will enable Cheshire FA to expand through hosting the Cheshire Girls League as well as training and match play for several local grassroots clubs, including Northwich Victoria FC and Barnton FC
• Other activity: The new facilities will enable the expansion of the Cheshire Disability Social League, which currently operates once per month, as well as the disability schools festivals held at Moss Farm.

Myra Shay Playing Field (Bradford):

• Funding: A £784k grant to City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council for a new 3G pitch the refurbishment of existing changing rooms at Myra Shay to ensure the facilities are female-friendly and inclusive.
• Women & Girls: The new facilities will allow local grassroots club, Athletico FC to create a full female pathway, with teams ranging from Under 8s all the way to their first team.
• Other activity – Athletico’s charitable arm, Athletico Sports Foundation will run various community programmes specifically targeted at helping people with disabilities and long-term health conditions as well as walking football.

Newport Pagnell Town FC (Milton Keynes)

• Funding: A £775k grant towards a new 3G pitch at Willen Road.
• Women and Girls: The new facilities will enable Newport Pagnell to establish a full female pathway by creating 11 new women’s and girls’ teams within five years of the pitch opening. The pitch will also work with Berks and Bucks County FA to provide the first women’s pan-disability session in the region.
• Other activity: This project will support diverse communities from a range of backgrounds, including through a weekly LGBTQ+ session ran by local charity, The Q: Alliance, as well as ‘turn up and play’ sessions and low-cost Premier League Kicks sessions to support people from socio-economic backgrounds

Peacehaven & Telescombe FC (Lewes):

• Funding: A £949k grant for a new 3G pitch and improvements to the existing changing rooms at Peacehaven & Telescombe FC’s home ground, the Sports Ground, to ensure the facilities are female-friendly and inclusive.
• Women & Girls: Thanks to the new facilities, the Club is expects a fivefold growth in women’s and girls’ teams, from three to 15. Sussex County FA will also use the new pitch to deliver coaching support and referee courses for women and girls.
• Other activities: The facilities will host holiday courses ran by Brighton & Hove Albion Foundation as well as walking football, an employability programme and asylum seekers sessions.

Portishead Town FC (North Somerset):

• Funding: A £840k grant towards the refurbishment of an existing 3G pitch at Portishead Town FC’s home ground, Bristol Road.
• Women & Girls: Portishead Town currently have a total of five women’s teams, one of which plays in Tier 4 of the Women’s Football Pyramid. Thanks to the new facilities, this number is predicted to grow to 11 (two adult and nine youth) within five years. Somerset County FA will also use the pitch host a girls’ league for Under 8s and Under 10s.
• Other activity: The Portishead Wellness Partnership, who are linked to Portishead Town Council and work with partners such as Age UK, the NHS and Voluntary Action North Somerset, will use the facilities to run targeted community programmes.

Presdales School Academy Trust (East Hertfordshire):

• Funding: A £824k grant for a new 3G pitch at Presdales School.
• Women & Girls: Local grassroots club, Star Bury Rangers FC, will use the new pitch for both their training and match play. This will support the Club to grow by 20 teams in the first five years of the site being open, 19 of which will be female teams. Hertford Town FC and Stevenage Women FC, who currently play in Tier 3 of the Women’s Football Pyramid, will also play at the site.
• Other activity: Supporting people with disabilities and long-term health conditions will be a key focus for this project.

Testwood School (New Forrest)

• Funding: A £399k grant for a 3G pitch and improvements to the existing cricket facilities at Testwood School.
• Women & Girls: The site will be used by PACE Youth FC who’ll host a women and girls-only evening, enabling the Club to grow to add an additional eight female teams.
• Other activity: Tottonians Rugby Club and Totton & Eling Cricket Club also plan to use the new facilities to grow their respective sports.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.