1,000 lost council pitches ‘could crush grassroots football’ – Inside Croydon

Boozepark has taken its beer orders for the weekend, sales of widescreen TVs are up and a nation in waiting is set to get behind Harry Kane and his England squad, including four Palace stars, as which launches its Euro 2024 campaign.

Eze for England: youngsters inspired by Palace star have fewer public pitches to play on than in 2010, research shows

But kids looking to step into the shoes of Adam Wharton and Eberechi Eze in the future may struggle to find a place to practice and hone their skills.

That’s according to research published this morning by public service union GMB, which found that almost 1,000 council-owned football pitches have been lost across the country since 2010.

The findings come as Croydon’s Tory mayor Jason Perry seeks to send some of the playing fields to Purley Way after opting not to repair or rebuild one of the changing blocks next to the public open space in Waddon , after the building was destroyed by arson.

GMB figures show that today there are 846 less local authority-owned or managed football grounds, while councils said a further 80 grounds have been closed, resulting in 926 pitches lost.

Fields of dreams: Croydon Council is flogging a section of Purley Way playing fields

Scotland lost 271 grounds during the 14-year period, while the north of England and Wales were also hit hard.

Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said: “The England and Scotland men’s teams are about to start their European Championship campaigns with the hopes of the nations resting on their shoulders.

“However, before a ball is kicked, the next generation of footballers has already lost.

“The loss of nearly 1,000 council football pitches could crush grassroots football and is yet another deeply depressing legacy of the Tories’ austerity mission.”

Read more: The Purley Way Sports Pavilion has been destroyed in a suspected fire
Read more: Locals are concerned that Perry plans to sell Norwood Grove
Read more: Once treasured council listed building Heathfield House left to rot

advertisement

FREE ADVERTISEMENTS: Paid subscribers to Inside Croydon qualify for a free advert for their business, residents’ association or community group, just one of the benefits of being part of our online community. For more information on becoming an iC subscriber, click here for our Patreon page

Paid Ads: To promote your services or products to the site’s nearly 10,000 weekday visitors, which is featured on Google News Showcase and followed by 16,000 on Twitter/X, email us at inside.croydon @btinternet.com for our unbeatable ad rates

Inside Croydon – If you want real journalism, delivering real news, from a publication that is based in the borough, please consider paying for it. Sign up today: Click here for more details

• If you have a story about life in or around Croydon, or want to advertise your residents’ association or business, or have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@ btinternet.com

• As featured on Google News Showcase

• ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s most rotten boroughs for the seventh consecutive year in the annual summary of civic advertising Private magazine