Woodbourn Road Football Hub Sheffield: £2m 'world class' upgrade to include 7 new pitches

Sheffield Council has greenlit the plans that will create six new five-a-side football pitches and one seven-a-side pitch. Each pitch will be fitted with third generation AstroTurf, will be fenced around the perimeter, and will be equipped with modern sports lighting. The opening times of the pitches will be extended to 8am-10pm Monday to Friday, and 8am-9pm on weekends, to allow more people to access the facilities.

The funding comes from the National Football Foundation, plugging a gap left by Covid-19 and the council’s declining finances. The financial situation of recent years has meant that grassroots football has taken a hit – having an effect on the physical and mental health of youngsters as well as stunting the development of English footballers at youth level.

Richard Williams, Liberal Democrat councillor and chair of the Communities, Parks, and Leisure policy committee, said: “We’re going to end up with a world class facility with £2.4 million worth of external funding. This is an excellent thing for Sheffield, and I look forward to it being built.”

A nice touch is added by the decision to rename the site ‘The Gordon Banks Stadium’. This is in honour of the Sheffield born goalkeeping legend who was a part of England’s iconic 1966 World Cup-winning squad. Banks died in 2019 and the naming of the site will be a fitting tribute to one of the city’s finest sporting icons.

Leader of the Sheffield Lib Dems Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed said: “I’m incredibly pleased that this project is going ahead. Grassroots football is massively important for the city’s sports offer, it encourages diversity, and it supports healthy lifestyles. It’s excellent to have another grassroots site to add to the Graves, Thorncliffe and Westfield sites, and I'm confident that residents from across the city will enjoy this development for many years to come.”

Sheffield has no shortage of footballing history with two major clubs playing in the football league in addition to boasting the world’s oldest football club and having a claim to being the birthplace of the national game. These developments could help uncover Sheffield’s – and England’s – next sporting star.