Purley Way Playing Fields could benefit from Premier League funding for grassroots football
Billionaire clubs like Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal could soon be contributing towards improved facilities for park football in Croydon.
Croydon has made a successful preliminary bid to Sport England and the Football Association for schemes at Ashburton Park and Purley Way Playing Fields under a project called Parklife, which is being funded with money generated by the £5.1billion Premier League TV rights deal.
The council now has funding to work on a feasibility study that could see a multi-million-pound investment into modern football facilities at the two parks football locations.
According to a statement released by Croydon Council, “Parklife – a five-year commitment to build many multi-pitch hubs across towns and cities in England – creates sustainable community football facilities in order to raise playing standards and provide more opportunities for everyone to enjoy the game.
“The £200million programme receives investment from The FA alongside the government, the Premier League and local partners. It is delivered nationally by the Football Foundation.”
Football facilities on the Purley Way have needed some improvement for some time
Croydon could secure around £5million for its schemes, with the remainder of the costs funded locally.
Timothy Godfrey, the Labour council’s cabinet member for football and stuff, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity and sits really well alongside our new leisure operator Greenwich Leisure and the transformation of our leisure offer across the borough next year.
“If it goes ahead many more people would have access to high quality playing facilities at these sites, and we’d ensure there was a focus on getting more women, people with disabilities, and older players involved in regular training sessions and league matches.
“Boosting sport participation is great for bringing communities together, as well, of course, as having health benefits.”
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