Faraday Road pitch grand re-opening
After months of hard work, the grand re-opening of the Faraday Road pitch took place on Sunday 19 November with some football mania!
We were thrilled to see so many members of the community attend, including parents, football teams, coaches, and dignitaries.
The festivities kicked off at 11:30am with welcome speeches from Cllr Lee Dillon, Leader of West Berkshire Council, and Lee McDougall, Newbury Community Football Group on behalf of the partnership, followed by Cllr Jeremy Cottam, Chairman of West Berkshire Council, officially opening the pitch with a celebratory ribbon cutting moment and declaring the games to officially kick-off.
After warming up on the pitches before the official opening on a cold Sunday, AFC Newbury Boys and Girls FC and CSA 07 FC kicked off their mini derby matches. It was wonderful to see the children enjoying the space and the overwhelming support they received.
Once the final whistle was blown, Cllr Jeremy Cottam, Chairman of West Berkshire Council, and Nigel Foot, Mayor of Newbury Town Council, handed out medals donated by Newbury Community Football Group, to all the children who played. This cemented the community feel of the day.
Whilst the children were competing, the penalty shootout was a huge success with many people getting involved and taking their turn to try and score against Newbury Football Club's own goalie.
As the event ended there was a clear sense of optimism among all, as they look forward to the next steps in this exciting journey to enhance the sporting facilities at Faraday Road.
Thank you to all those who made the day a success by bringing this pitch back to life.
Watch this space to see our video