A new £625,000 community sports pitch, opened at Loughside Recreation Centre on the Shore Road in north Belfast, has ben welcomed as “encouraging full and equal access to facilities for women, girls and other under-represented groups”.
Comprising a high-quality artificial pitch, perimeter fencing and floodlighting, the facility was funded by the Irish FA and Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Grassroots Facilities Investment Fund and Crusaders FC.
The investment is part of the wider Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which is investing £123 million in 2024/25 to support facilities across the whole of the UK.
The programme provides funding to make essential facility improvements so that communities have high-quality pitches to play on, building on investment from previous years.
At the official opening, Sue O’Neill, director of Crusaders Strikers, the women’s and girls’ section in the nearby Seaview club, said DCMS investment was important because it specifically encourages full and equal access to facilities for women, girls and other under-represented groups. The pitch will specifically accommodate the Crusaders girls’ academy.
She added: “Our club is located in an area of deprivation and the role of the Strikers isn’t just to produce good female footballers but to educate and develop great people capable of doing well in work, family and civic life. Having Loughside as a key development centre for girls’ football will represent a very public beacon of our, and the Fund’s, aims.”
Irish FA Deputy President, Neil Jardine, added: “This excellent new facility in north Belfast is part of a wider initiative as the Irish FA/DCMS Grassroots Facilities Investment Fund includes 17 new artificial grass pitch projects across Northern Ireland.
“Its main objectives are to improve the infrastructure of grassroots football clubs, increase participation in sport and physical activity, and to enhance mental and physical health.
“The Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme is a clear demonstration of the Government’s commitment to providing people here and right across the UK with opportunities to get active.”
Crusaders treasurer Tommy Whiteside, who was project manager for the facility build, said the pitch, built on a barren site which had fallen into disuse for close on 40 years, will be a boon for grassroots sports in lower north Belfast.
He explained: “Crusaders and the local community, through Loughview Community Action Project (LCAP), are delighted to resurrect the site, which we expect will be a popular facility. For Crusaders the pitch will accommodate our girls’ academy and our disability football initiative as well as our 16-18 apprenticeship and 14-16 apprenticeship programmes.”
Brian Dunn from Loughview Community Action Project said it was “an encouraging initiative” involving the local community and the football club with city, regional and central government to provide a much-needed facility.
He further said: “We are encouraged that funding has been allocated in disadvantaged areas and we see this facility as a springboard to other capital development along the Shore Road arterial route and its adjacent neighbourhoods.
“The facility will facilitate community and schools usage and we will inaugurate a local primary schools competition from early 2025 as well as promoting after-school coaching. A range of local community teams will use the facility as well as sports other than football, including rugby, cricket, boxing and athletics.
“It is our express aim to make this the first of many projects to uplift the life chances for people in the locality.”
Councillor Fred Cobain, a key driver of the project, pointed out capital investment in lower north Belfast has lagged behind other parts of the city.
He explained: “We have plans for future investment projects and see the Loughside community pitch and Belfast City Council investment on the wider site as forerunners for future initiatives.
“Developing the capacity in communities and industry to develop much-needed capital infrastructure will uplift the Shore Road as a whole as an attractive business, leisure and recreation destination. There remains much to do.”
The Irish Football Association (Irish FA)/Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Grassroots Facilities Investment Fund 2023-25 is supporting grassroots football clubs, local authorities, schools and football-focused sports community/charitable organisations in Northern Ireland.
It is helping to improve and refurbish facilities so that grassroots football clubs and communities have a high-quality pitch to play on, thereby helping to create a better grassroots football infrastructure foundation.
