Published: Monday, 21st July 2025
Grassroots football in Medway is set for a major boost as 62 grass football pitches across 17 sites receive a combined investment of more than £877,000.
Successful funding applications to the Football Foundation, supported by partnership funding from Medway Council, have resulted in funding of £877,056 to pitches in Medway.
The project came about following collaboration between Kent FA and Medway Council to establish the Medway Football Steering Group which brought together key partners to look at football facility investment opportunities in the area. The project will see £600,579 of investment from the Football Foundation’s Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund, supported with £276,477 in partnership funding from Medway Council to transform the quality of the council’s entire stock of grass football pitches over the next six years.
The 2019 Playing Pitch Strategy for Medway found that the majority of grass football pitches across the area were graded either basic or poor in quality. It also identified a shortfall of carrying capacity of 55 match equivalent sessions per week for adult 11v11 football, with future deficits projected for both youth and adult pitches due to population growth, increased housing developments, and rising participation rates. The case was coupled with assessments carried out in 2025 using the Football Foundation’s PitchPower app which confirmed the scale of the challenge: 52 of the 62 council pitches assessed were graded as of a basic or poor performance quality standard (PQS), with many overused and unable to meet current or future demand.
The funding will enable enhanced maintenance operations at each site to help pitches improve to a good PQS which will improve the experience for players, reduce postponements and increase the number of games each pitch can handle per week.
Medway Council has worked in partnership with the Rochester & District Football League, Medway Area Sunday Football League, Medway District Youth League, and Anchorians Football Club who all sit on the Medway Football Steering Group alongside the council’s greenspaces and sport departments and the Kent FA to successfully bid for the funding - demonstrating strong collaboration across the local football community.
The 17 sites which will be receiving the investment are:
Barnfield Playing Field, Beechings Cross, Beechings Way, Borstal Recreation Ground, Chatham Garrison Ground, Cliffe Woods Recreation Ground, Cozenton Park, Deangate Ridge, Hempstead Recreation Ground, Hook Meadow, Kings Frith, Knights Place, Luton Rec, Rainham Recreation Ground, Ryetop Playing Field, Snodhurst Bottom, and Watling Street Playing Fields.
Make a real difference
Vicki Mills, Secretary of the Medway District Youth League, said: “It’s fantastic that this fund is available from the Football Foundation and that Medway Council and Kent FA have been as keen as we have to improve pitch quality. This investment will make a real difference to grassroots players across Medway.”
Real One Medway approach
Cllr Nina Gurung, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and Leisure, said: “It is fantastic to see our effective partnership working coming to fruition with the delivery of improved sports facilities across Medway – a real One Medway approach where our residents are the true beneficiaries. This funding will make a positive difference in our communities and we look forward to continuing to work in strong partnership with the Medway Football Steering Group, the leagues and clubs in Medway and the Kent FA.”
This project forms part of a wider wave of investment Kent FA have been working to lever into the county’s football pitches. To date, Kent’s pitches have received grant awards totalling £3.8 million from the Football Foundation through the Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund. When including partnership contributions, this brings the total investment into Kent’s grass pitch network to in excess of £5.7 million.