Lionesses legacy: £30m fund to deliver new 3G pitches for women's and girls' teams across England

A new £30m fund is set to deliver approximately 30 new state of the art 3G pitches at sites supporting women’s and girls’ teams across England following the success of the Lionesses.

After England won Euro 2022 on home soil and reached the 2023 World Cup final, the government has announced an additional £30m investment into ensuring the legacy of the team.

Delivered by the government, the Premier League and Football Foundation, the pitches are designed to prioritise women’s and girls’ teams across England to turbocharge the development opportunities for the next generation of Lionesses. 

Veteran defender Lucy Bronze said: "I think we're just immensely proud.

"It's nice to know people believe in us as much as we believe in ourselves. The fact that the government want to invest so much money because they see the difference we've made, just as a team on the pitch but what a difference it’s made to women all around the country.

"To give all women and girls that access to live out a dream that we live out in whatever shape or from that looks like whether the for fun and hobby or be professional and make it to the top of the game, that they an opportunity to do that is so important to us."

After the success of Euro 2022, the Lionesses called for equal access to PE and sport for girls in schools, supported by £600m government grant through the PE and School Sports Premium.

Football Foundation, the charity picked to spearhead the fund will choose locations across England, focusing on developing areas with an aim to deliver more access to football for women and girls from low-income families to increase diversity in grassroots football.

The £30, of which £25m is from the government and £5m from the FA, will be used to fund approximately 30 new state-of-the-art 3G pitches and accompanying facilities and will ensure prioritisation of women and girls' football. The fund will be committed by the Football Foundation within the next 18 months. Facilities are set to be opened around six to nine months after.

Reserved peak-time slots, women and girls only evenings and priority booking for women's and girls' teams will be introduced at every site to increase participation and support the demand to play whatever the motivation. The facilities will provide dedicated female changing rooms, shower facilities and accessible toilets.

Football Foundation CEO Robert Sullivan revealed diversity is paramount when choosing location. Areas will have to prove they are able to cater for women and girls and prove they have equal access in grass roots football to be able to receive a new pitch as part of the grant.

"Our ambition to deliver more facilities that prioritise access for women and girls to play football has been accelerated," he said. "This new fund is an exciting next step in our determination to support the rapid growth of the women and girls' game."

READ MORE OF THE LATEST LIONESSES NEWS, QUOTES & MATCH PREVIEWS