Hackney Marshes gets important makeover

Working in partnership with the Football Foundation, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and other funders, Hackney Council have overhauled the facilities at one of the largest grassroots football sites in Europe.

The project works have included: partial levelling, drainage and reconfiguration of 10 grass pitches, installation of three new changing pavilions with the capacity to hold 46 teams, and a new state-of-the-art third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch (AGP).

The new changing pavilion has replaced facilities next to Cow Bridge, off Mandeville Road, which were no longer fit for purpose and did not meet the required guidelines and regulations. In addition to this, the new all-weather pitch has been installed with floodlights, enabling increased capacity and availability thanks to it being usable during the evening.

Hackney Marshes is widely considered the home of grassroots football with more than 60 football pitches, the greatest concentration anywhere in Europe. It also has 10 cricket pitches and three rugby pitches.

Hackney Council were awarded a £1.9m grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund towards the project. The council worked alongside the Football Foundation and London County FA to compile a five-year Football Development Plan, which is a vision of how sport will be played on site with an emphasis on increasing participation.

You can read the full article from the Football Foundation HERE