Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the condition and availability of grassroots football pitches.

The Government is investing £85 million in grassroots sports facilities via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) Programme in 2026/27, which is part of an overall investment of £400m into grassroots sport facilities through to 2030. Projects funded include new artificial grass pitches, grass pitch upgrades and pitch maintenance equipment.

Our delivery partner for the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities programme in England, the Football Foundation, plans its investment pipeline using Local Football Facility Plans (LFFPs) for each local authority, which are developed in partnership with local authorities so as to understand the needs of each community. LFFPs are publicly available here, and the LFFP for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is available here.

In Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole the Football Foundation has invested in four new artificial grass pitch and seven grass pitch improvement projects, and have identified priority projects suitable for further potential investment in the area.