New Mills Juniors awarded funding to revamp football facilities

People living in New Mills are set to benefit from fresh investment into local football facilities.

New Mills Juniors FC have been awarded a grant from the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation to improve both of their grass pitch sites.

The Football Foundation is the UK's largest sports charity and exists to improve the experience of playing football for everyone, by championing fair access to quality facilities.

The grant will enable New Mills Juniors, whose teams play in the Stockport Metro and High Peak Junior Football Leagues and give more than 175 members the chance to play football each week, to improve their grass pitch facilities at both there Newtown Rec and Ollersett Field sites.

Players will be able to enjoy better quality and professionally maintained pitches, which will represent a significant improvement on the existing pitches - both Newtown Rec and Ollersett Field are prone to waterlogging and in urgent need of regular renovation, which this six-year Pitch Improvement Plan will guarantee.

New Mills Juniors FC worked with the Football Foundation and Derbyshire FA to secure a £27,500 grant towards the project.

Rick Adrio, Chairman of New Mills Juniors FC, said: "Football makes a huge difference to the players, coaches and community here. We see first-hand the impact on players’ confidence, physical health and mental focus.

"To receive this funding from the Premier League, The FA and the Government through the Football Foundation means a lot to us, as it will help us to improve grassroots sport in the New Mills area and get even more people involved in the nation’s favourite game." 

Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: "We’re dedicated to improving grassroots football facilities because we want to encourage more people to get involved in our nation’s favourite game, regardless of their background, age or ability.

"That’s why I’m delighted that this funding will support New Mills Juniors FC in developing all of the grass pitches at Newtown Rec and Ollersett Field sites for the local community.

"Made possible by investment from the Premier League, The FA and the Government, via Sport England, the Football Foundation is supporting the grassroots game by improving access to high-quality football facilities across the country. We believe in the power of pitches to transform lives and strengthen communities and so we’ll be investing £1bn across the country over the next 10 years." 

Founded in 2000, the Football Foundation is the largest sports charity in the UK funded by the Premier League, The FA and Government, via Sport England.

It develops new and refurbished grassroots sports facilities in order to improve the quality and experience of playing sport at the grassroots level.

Since it was launched in 2000, the Foundation has awarded over 17,377 grants, worth more than £684m, towards improving grassroots sport, which it has used to attract additional partnership funding of £870m – totalling over £1.5bn of investment into the grassroots game. 

Main image:

New Mills Juniors teams when their partnership with local confectionary manufacturer Swizzels was announced last October.