Sir Trevor kicks-off new £2.4m site

Local people in the Dronfield area were this week celebrating as The FA’s Director of Football Development Sir Trevor Brooking was present for the opening of a new £2.4m facility at Gosforth Fields.

He was joined by President of the Rugby Football Union, John Owen to conduct the ceremony for the new state-of-the-art facility which will enable Dronfield Town FC and AFC Dronfield to provide excellent playing and coaching facilities for the 600 local boys, girls and adults registered with the clubs. The facility will be managed by the Gosforth Fields Sports Association, an umbrella association made up of the two football clubs and Dronfield Rugby Club.

The Football Foundation awarded a grant of £996,659 to the Gosforth Fields Sports Association towards the project in 2008. Funded by the Premier League, The Football Association and Government, the Football Foundation is the country’s largest sports charity, investing £40m each year into community sport projects.

The site was previously unable to meet the sports provision needs of the local community. It had eleven grass pitches with no permanent outdoor changing provision. In addition the fields had historically suffered from chronic drainage problems.

The site now boasts a new changing pavilion and a full-size floodlit 3G artificial grass pitch. Improvements have been made to the drainage of pitches, perimeter fencing and car parking. The new facility will therefore enable the association to continue its growth and development in style.

“I am delighted to be officially opening the excellent new facilities at Gosforth Fields,” Said Sir Trevor.

“It is vital that young children have facilities where they can be safe and enjoy fun, quality coaching. For many youngsters, playing football can teach them life skills like communication and teamwork, but for a very talented few, facilities such as these may be where the next generation of players will develop their skills.

“The Gosforth Fields Sports Association and the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA deserve huge credit for securing the Football Foundation grant and also for raising the additional partnership funding that has enabled this project to become a reality.”

John Morris, Chairman at Gosforth Fields, added: “This new facility gives us a solid platform to support the 600 current players and strong foundations to develop football even further in the local community.”