Birmingham City’s Emma Follis and Emily Westwood helped unveil Castle Vale Stadium’s all-weather pitch, which is expected to see six new female sides among its users.
Jack Dromey, MP for Erdington, officially opened Compass Support’s state-of-the-art new all-weather pitch in Birmingham recently (Friday 27 October), thanks to a £687,100 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, which is delivered by the Football Foundation.
The grant has enabled Compass Support to upgrade the existing grass pitch at the Castle Vale Stadium, with a brand new 3G pitch, which will benefit many users.
The new facility, which is on the original site of the Castle Bromwich Aerodrome – a major World War I and II airfield – will be used by the Birmingham FA to deliver a number of coaching and referee training courses. Additionally, Aston Villa FC plan to deliver Premier League Kicks sessions and other community outreach programmes there.
A 105% boost in football participation across all ages is expected at the site, supported by Castle Vale Town FC’s plans to introduce 19 new teams, taking their total from 15 to 34 – including 6 brand new female sides.
