Specsavers has teamed up with former England and Manchester United star Gary Neville to launch a new initiative aimed at transforming underfunded grassroots football pitches across the UK – and clubs in Harrow are being encouraged to apply.
The ‘Best Worst Pitch’ campaign will support 50 grassroots football clubs by providing them with professional line painting kits, pitch maintenance equipment, GPS pitch mapping, and training to help them care for their pitches throughout the next season and beyond.
The initiative follows Specsavers’ earlier ‘Best Worst Team’ campaign, which brought attention to the struggles many local clubs face with poorly maintained pitches.
Gary Neville said: “Anyone who has played football at one point or another has played on a dodgy pitch. Grassroots football is the foundation of our sport and it’s great to be a part of the Best Worst Pitch initiative supporting the communities and volunteers who make it possible.”
The project aims to tackle one of the biggest issues in grassroots football – poor pitch conditions due to limited funding and heavy reliance on volunteers.
Craig Doughty, Chairman of Tunley Athletic – the current Specsavers Best Worst Team – shared his own experience: “It’s a real slog sometimes every week, rain or shine, I’m out there doing two full laps of the pitch just to get the lines marked. The equipment we’ve got is ancient, it clogs, it leaks, and it takes twice as long as it should. On dark evenings or when the wind’s howling, it feels like it takes forever. But I do it because I love this club, it means everything to the community.”
Specsavers’ Kim Bull added: “Over the last two seasons supporting clubs that need a bit of help with their eyes and ears, as well as their game, we’ve noticed the effort that goes into keeping grassroots clubs running. People like Craig, who quietly put in the hard work behind the scenes to keep pitches playable is what grassroots football is all about. This initiative means we can support more clubs and communities, like Tunley. By making faded lines more visible, we’re helping players see the beautiful game more clearly. And hopefully make fewer mistakes!”
Know any clubs in Harrow or beyond that could use some help? Click here for more.
Chris Mitchell is the founder and editor of Harrow Online, Harrow’s leading local news platform.
He launched Harrow Online in 2010 as a Facebook page sharing local news and information. Since then, it has grown into a trusted source for breaking news, crime, council decisions, planning, transport, business and community stories across the borough.
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