This impressive new, all-weather football pitch and pavilion in Greenford was opened last week by Hayley McQueen of Sky Sports News.

She was there (on 25 April) to check out the pitch and two-storey changing room pavilion at William Perkin High School in Greenford – along with Mayor of Ealing, Councillor Dr Patricia Walker.

The project was a partnership between Ealing Council, the Middlesex Football Association (FA) and the school; and they have put together a five-year football development plan to increase local participation in the sport, including running specific programmes for young people and for disabled people. There was also funding from Sport England and the London Marathon Charitable Trust.

In addition to the school’s 785 students, the site will be used by local primary schools, and will be called ‘home’ by Middlesex FA Girls Centre of Excellence and local sides Greenford Celtic FC and Hanwell Town Youth FC.

Built alongside the school’s existing all-weather pitch, the new two-storey changing room pavilion comprises: Four team changing rooms; two officials’ changing rooms; a clubroom; kitchen facilities; spectator toilets and an office space. The clubroom will be used by a variety of sporting bodies as a base for coaching and officiating courses.

Hayley McQueen said: “This sort of pitch wouldn’t look out of place at a professional club’s training ground, it is that good. You cannot help but want to kick a football the moment you step foot on it. That is the beauty of building one of these – people gravitate towards it because they know they’ll be able to play on it all-year-round, regardless of their ability.”

More to come

The school now plans to add a second phase to the project, working in partnership with Middlesex County Cricket Club. The idea is to create a cricket ‘hub’ for local primary school children and a base for Middlesex Women’s Cricket.