Arsenal defender and Lionesses captain Leah Williamson returned to her home-town today to celebrate the opening of The Leah Williamson Pitch at Newport Pagnell Town FC, one of the half of sites to receive Lionesses Futures Fund grants.
This £30m cash injection from the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation was announced last year to recognise the trailblazing success of the Lionesses. The grants will help to provide women and girls across the country with gold standard facilities and experiences, with priority access for women and girls through reserved peak-time slots and welcoming changing rooms.
Since the Lionesses lifted the EURO trophy in 2022, 68,000 more girls are playing football compared to before the tournament. However, too often, badly lit pitches, unsuitable changing facilities and late-night kick-off times put women and girls off taking to the pitch.
To celebrate the Lionesses roaring to victory at the 2022 UEFA EUROs and their achievement of making the final at FIFA World Cup 2023, £25m from the Government and £5m from The FA was committed to supporting the improvement of at least 30 facilities across the country.
The Leah Williamson Pitch is just one of 14 sites across the country from Oldham to the New Forest and Suffolk to Somerset who have been awarded a Lionesses Futures Fund grant. By January 2025 further sites will be in place to provide every women and girl the facilities they need and deserve.
To find out more click here: Lionesses Futures Fund pitches celebrated by captain Leah Williamson | Football Foundation
