Football Foundation
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Darius Vassell feeling like a Newman after Villa hero opens university ’ s new all-weather pitch
Former England forward joined by Premier League Assistant Referee , Sian Massey-Ellis MBE
Darius Vassell , former Aston Villa FC and England forward , officially unveiled a state-of-the-art new all-weather pitch at Newman University in Birmingham . He was joined by Premier League Assistant Referee Sian Massey-Ellis MBE , a Newman University alumnus . The project was made possible by a grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund , which is delivered by the Football Foundation .
The grant enabled Newman University to install a new third generation ( 3G ) artificial grass pitch ( AGP ) suitable for Under-16 football . The new surface , which is capable of holding three 5v5 games at once , is expected to boost football participation at the site by 67 % across all ages .
The upgrades made to the site will not only benefit the University ’ s students , but also partner clubs Bartley Reds FC and Northfield Town JFC . Other users will include : Conway Albion FC ; Bournville FC ; Castle Alliance FC ; Rubery Oak FC and Harborne Harriers FC .
There is currently a shortage of appropriate football facilities in the area , but Newman University ’ s upgraded pitch is helping to remedy this . Other sport-focused community programmes will also take place on the pitch .
The new surface will help to continue Newman University ’ s commitment to improving the mental health of people in the region through partnerships with the Aston Villa FC Foundation , Birmingham MIND and Sport Birmingham .
Newman University worked alongside the Birmingham FA and the Football Foundation to compile a five-year Football
Development Plan , which is a vision of how sport will be played at the site with an emphasis on increasing participation . It is expected that overall sports participation will rise by 57 % at the site thanks to the upgraded pitch . Additionally , a 110 % boost in Under-14 football participation is predicted . This is supported by the partners clubs ’ plans to introduce new teams . Bartley Reds FC will create five new teams , taking their total from six to eleven , whilst Northfield Town JFC will establish four new sides .
The club worked in partnership with the Birmingham County FA to secure a £ 315,968 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities
Fund , which helped to make the project a success . 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 around 15,000 grants worth more than £ 580m towards improving grassroots sport , which it has used to attract additional partnership funding of over £ 800m – £ 1.4bn of investment into the grassroots game .
Since 2000 , the Football Foundation Funding Partners ’ investment has provided 375 grants worth £ 21.5m towards grassroots sports projects worth over £ 50m across the whole of Birmingham .
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