Hampshire FA has signed a contract with Portsmouth City Council to manage the King George V Football Complex.

The partnership between the council, Hampshire FA, the Premier League, the FA and The Football Foundation, has led to the development of the football complex, which has two 3G football pitches (one full size and one super-size) with a variety of pitch options for all formats of grassroots football and an impressive pavilion building with four changing rooms, two officials’ rooms, and meeting rooms.

The wider local community will also benefit from the pavilion as it’s open to the public. There is a café, social space, outdoor seating, and a ‘Changing Places’ WC for people limited in their mobility who may need additional equipment or space for carers. The new pavilion facilities have been constructed by LST Projects.

Leader of the council with responsibility for leisure, Councillor Steve Pitt, said: “We’ve worked in partnership with the Football Foundation and Hampshire FA to bring this much-needed football facility to the north of the city, to encourage grassroots football and enable children and adults to play football whatever the weather. We hope that our residents enjoy this new facility, and that it enhances their quality of life.”

Hampshire FA CEO, Neil Cassar, said: “Hampshire FA is delighted to be appointed as the operator of the fabulous new King George V Football Complex in Cosham and we very much look forward to opening for the local football community in Portsmouth and surrounding areas. There is no doubt that King George V Football Complex will provide state of the art football and ancillary facilities and we welcome the opportunity to use our expertise and experience of operating three other hub sites in the county to promote, develop and progress this exciting new venue.  Working with the collective funding partners, we are positive that King George V Football Complex will be a thriving success.”

Robert Sullivan, CEO Football Foundation says: “The King George V Football Complex is a brilliant example of how investment from our partners, the Premier League, The FA, Government and Sport England improves grassroots facilities across the country.

“We know that facilities like this one in Portsmouth are vital for local communities and will enable more people in and around the area to have great places to play.”

Leon Gardner, Project Delivery Lead from LST says: “It was a pleasure working on this project which will have such a huge benefit for the local community. The collaborative approach between the council’s project team, Football association and ourselves has made this vision a reality and has delivered a high quality facility which will serve the community for years to come.”

LST Site Manager, Kevin Edwards, who lives a stones throw away from the site and used to play football on the playing fields in his younger days said “I was lucky to have so many good sporting memories here and to have the opportunity to work on the new pavilion site and football pitches has a been a great privilege for me. Both young and old will gain a lot of pleasure from what we have built here, and everyone can be very proud of that.”

KGV Football Complex also received levelling-up funding from the government towards the new facilities as part of the Hilsea Lines project. Additionally, there was also funding from the Youth Investment Fund (YIF) to create a visitor attraction that ensures young people in our local area have access to regular out of school activities, whilst promoting health and wellbeing opportunities for all to enjoy.