AFC Sudbury’s new 3G football pitch for community on track for completion by spring 2025, chief executive reveals

A new, all-weather football pitch for Sudbury could be in use by the spring, after securing a grant of £1.127 million to deliver the project.

The buoyant mood has continued at AFC Sudbury, following confirmation last week it had received what is understood to be the biggest grant ever to be awarded by the Football Foundation.

With the funding in place, the football club confirmed work to replace an existing grass pitch with a new 3G playing surface was scheduled to begin on January 7.

Subject to the installation being completed in the intended timeframe, it is expected the facility would be ready for use by May.

Reacting to the grant award, AFC Sudbury chairman Andrew Long paid tribute to everybody who had helped to bring the project to fruition since planning began almost six years ago.

Alicja Holland, chief executive of AFC Sudbury, told Suffolk News: “It’s exceptional to think that this project first started in January 2019.

“As Andrew said, it’s due to the hard work and dedication of a handful of individuals around our club that it’s finally happening.

“Special mention needs to be made of John Smith, Darren Scoulding and Richard Instance, who have provided dedication and expertise to help AFC Sudbury be in receipt of the largest single grant ever awarded by the Football Foundation.

“I’m very much looking forward to seeing the development of the build from start to finish and, even more so, how it will benefit our local community, providing a safe place to enjoy the sport that we all love.”

The Football Foundation funding is supplemented by an additional £165,000 – comprised of community infrastructure levy (CIL) money from Babergh District Council, plus a grant from the Belstead Ganzoni Settlement Charitable Trust.

In addition to serving the club’s grassroots and academy teams, the primary goal of the artificial pitch is to provide opportunities for the wider community.

Among those set to benefit are other sports clubs, local schools and other organisations, while there are also plans to collaborate with relevant authorities to offer facilities for health, wellbeing and rehabilitation.