English Schools' Football Association

New Facility is Barking & Dagenham’s First 3G Surface

Former England and West Ham Unitedmidfielder, Joe Cole, has visited Robert Clack School to unveil Barking & Dagenham’s first third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch (AGP), which was made possible by a £450,000 grant from the Premier League and the FA Facilities Fund.

The new pitch, which will complement the school’s already impressive sports facilities, was officially opened by the star player, who then watched students play in celebratory 5v5 matches on the new surface. Robert Clack has a close educational relationship with West Ham, with the club’s Under 15s and 16s players taking GCSE qualifications at the school.

Furthermore, the new facility will provide a home for four local football clubs including Aztec FC, Roneo Colts FC, Byron Red Star FC and Dagenham Park Rangers FC, who operate more than 60 teams between them. The school worked in partnership with the Essex County FA to secure a £450,000 grant from the Premier League and the FA Facilities Fund, which are also funded by the Government, via Sport England.

Projects are delivered on their behalf by the Football Foundation, the country’s largest sports charity. Since they were launched in 2000, the Foundation have awarded around 12,000 grants worth more than £490m towards improving grassroots sport, which they’ve used to attract additional partnership funding of over £651m - over £1bn of investment into grassroots.

Since 2000 the Football Foundation funding partners’ investment has provided 150 grants worth £12m towards grassroots sports projects, worth almost £24m across the whole of Essex. Cole said: “Surfaces like this are absolutely first class because they don’t get waterlogged, and when it gets dark the floodlights mean you can keep on playing! Judging by some of the skills I’ve seen on show there are some stars of the future out there.”

Sir Paul Grant, Head Teacher, Robert Clack School, said: “We are convinced that Robert Clack’s outstanding record of community engagement will ensure that this magnificent 3G pitch will significantly increase football participation in the borough and beyond.”

Adult males aged 16+ who want to play football without committing to a structured weekly game can already enjoy an informal ‘Kickabout’ on Monday evenings from 7:00-9:00pm at casual ‘FA Mars Just Play’ sessions which take place at the school. Kickabouts are ideal for people with unpredictable timetables in their lifestyles.

There’s no need to join a league or take care of a fancy team strip. It’s all about loose, sociable play with an FA-qualified Just Play organiser at an excellent local facility. At Robert Clack it costs just £2 to take part, and you don’t have to be in a group or part of a team to join in.

The sessions are for all abilities and are perfect for those who haven’t played in a while. There’s absolutely no commitment; some of the ‘Just Players’ attend once a month and others come along every week. Individuals can get as involved in each Kickabout as they want as there is no pressure from the organisers or from the other players at each session.

For more information about the work the Football Foundation is doing all over the country visit www.footballfoundation.org.uk or follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FootballFoundtn. For more information on the Robert Clack FA Mars Just Play kickabout, call Charlie O’Neill on (07903) 146029, E-Mail co’neill@robert-clack.bardaglea.org.uk or just turn up on the night.