Saints will benefit as Bully pitches in
Under gleaming floodlights and on a fresh green playing surface, footballers of the future will be able to develop their talent on a new state-of-the-art all-weather pitch, which has opened up in the Black Country.
Wolves’ legendary striker Steve Bull officially unveiled the third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch in Walsall.
It will provide a platform for grassroots teams at junior and senior levels to play the game in a professional type of setting, while community leaders believe it will help to increase the number of people playing football in the area.
The pitch, based at Oak Park Active Living Centre in Coppice Road, Walsall Wood, has cost more than £400,000.
It has been funded through England’s top footballing bodies, and Walsall Council, working in partnership with sport charity Football Foundation.
Bull MBE, who scored 306 goals for Wolves, and represented England at the 1990 World Cup, said: “This is a brilliant new facility that will benefit the local area as a whole. I know how important grassroots football is and the money from the Premier League, the Football Association and the government, delivered by the Football Foundation, is vital to the sport.
“Sites like this 3G AGP help all members of a community to experience the benefits of sport, and I can see that this one will be getting a lot of use!”
The pitch will provide a home for Walsall Wood Saints JFC – a club, who have teams from under-six to under-18s, which recently merged with Walsall Wood who play in the Midland League Premier Division. This new set up, coupled with the opening of the pitch, has seen the number of teams inside the club grow.
The new pitch is already hosting competitive matches for Walsall College, the Staffordshire Veterans League and Rushall Olympic of the Junior Premier League.
Several other grassroots clubs are also using the facility including Brownhills Colts, Pelsall Villa Colts and ASP Victoria.
From September 2017, the Walsall Junior Youth League will be using the pitch as a centre for its five-versus-five and seven-versus-seven matches.
The funding was delivered through Football Foundations’ Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund. Walsall Council, which runs the site, gave £156,698, bringing the total cost of the pitch to £406,698.
Walsall Council worked in partnership with the Staffordshire FA to secure a £250,000 grant from the fund. The pitch is expected to raise sports participation in the area by 126 per cent.
Bull added: “I’m especially glad to hear about how the pitch is going to help local teams, such as Walsall Wood Saints JFC, to deliver top-quality training sessions.
“Without the funding from the Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund, this stunning all-weather pitch would not have been possible. Well done to Walsall Council, which worked alongside the Staffordshire FA, for their hard work in securing this grant.”
The council has compiled a five-year football development plan, which looks at how sport will be played on the site with an emphasis on increasing participation. The plan predicts an increase in football participation for the 14-25 age group by 493 per cent, and projects a 416 per cent rise in the total number of players.
Walsall Woods Saints JFC hope to grow the female section of their club, which would also benefit the female participation for Walsall Wood FC.
It is expected that the opening of this new facility will result in a 124 per cent increase in overall female sport participation for the area.
Organisers have already forged links with the Albion Foundation, the charitable arm of Premier League club, who are delivering their Baggies Soccer Centre on Saturday mornings.
This initiative provides local youngsters with a pathway into Walsall Wood Saints JFC’s under-six and under-seven teams.
Walsall councillor Ian Shires said: “This fantastic £12 million facility is already having a real impact on improving Walsall residents’ activity levels and encouraging grassroots sport. Since the doors first opened in August 2016, there have already been more than 400,000 visits.”
