Work is due to commence on Monday 7th July 2025 to revamp the football facilities at St Johns, Marlborough, thanks to a £950 000 grant from the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation through the Lionesses Futures Fund.
The Lionesses Futures Fund was announced in November 2023 to recognise the historic achievements of all the players at the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023. The grant to St John’s is to help the school deliver top quality facilities for women and girls, not only through the school curriculum but in the community as well. The funding will replace an existing grass pitch with a 3G football turf pitch.
3G pitches are flexible, durable and can operate all year round with capacity to accommodate a variety of football usage from informal recreational activity to training and match play. Other sports can use the facility too, including rugby. Local groups and charities might be interested in using the facility for specific sports or for multi-sports games.
St John’s is the largest secondary school in the Excalibur Academies Trust and the only one not have an all-weather pitch. This greatly limits the delivery of the PE curriculum and restricts how much the community can use the pitch facilities.
St John’s lead partner in the project is Marlborough Youth Football Club. Founded in 2010 MYFC is a community-focused football club dedicated to inclusivity and fostering a love for the game among players aged 5 to 18. MYFC has over 500 players, a third of whom are girls, supported by around100 volunteers, fielding over 30 league-registered teams. The community benefits of this partnership were key in attracting the grant from the Lionesses Futures Fund and both organisations are excited about working closely together to promote not only football, but sport for all.
Excalibur Academies Trust has committed £150 000 to support the build. Recognising the significant community benefits of the facility, particularly in providing best-in-class experiences for women and girls, Marlborough Town Council has ring-fenced £100, 000 of S106 money to ensure the pitch can be built. This major statement of support will help turbocharge opportunities for the next generation of Lionesses.
Alan Henderson, Principal of St Johns, said, “Being awarded a grant from the Premier League, the FA and the Government via the Football Foundation’s Lionesses Futures Fund marks a new chapter in our ability to provide first class facilities not only for our students, but for the community as well. Partnering with Marlborough Youth Football Club enables us to reach deeper into the local community to encourage and to support sport and activity for all.”
Robert Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said, “The Football Foundation is working closely with our partners – the Premier League, The FA and Government – to transform the quality of grassroots facilities in England by delivering projects like this across the country. Good quality playing facilities have a transformative impact on physical and mental health and play an important role in bringing people together and strengthening local communities. We’re delighted that works are now underway to deliver a new 3G football turf pitch at St John’s, Marlborough and we’re excited to see the new facilities in action.”
The new facilities are expected to open in October 2025.
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