Thu 07 Nov
Time to read: 3mins
Rams striker opens his old school's sports facility.
Derby County striker Mason Bennett went back to school on Tuesday afternoon – to help open the brand new sports facility at Shirebrook Academy in Mansfield.
The £1 million facility was opened by Bennett, 17, who was a pupil at the school prior to joining Derby on a full-time basis in the summer of 2012.
Bennett, who is Derby’s youngest-ever player and goalscorer, was joined by Mansfield Town legend Ken Wagstaff to cut the ribbon and officially mark the opening of the impressive-looking new complex.
He said: “It’s been great to return to Shirebrook Academy, which holds a special place in my heart, and open this great new sports facility.
“I’m actually quite jealous because the facilities are amazing!
“The school means so much to me; it helped shape me as a person as well as well as helping with my education.”
Bennett made his first-team bow whilst still at school and added: “Making my debut at 15 was just crazy and it’s a big thing to deal with, so it was vital to have great people around me at that time and I was very lucky to be at Shirebrook.”
Funded by £397,100 from the Football Foundation, the country’s largest sports charity, the project will significantly benefit grassroots sport in the area.
The new facility boasts a brand new third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch (AGP).
This complements the new changing pavilion on the site which consists of four changing rooms, a club room and kitchen – all of which all form part of a larger development at the school which opened in Easter 2013.
The new facility will allow pupils at the Academy to enjoy school football and PE lessons all year round.
Also standing to benefit is the Academy’s partner club, Shirebrook Rangers, who will use the site to train and play.
The Academy worked in partnership with the Derbyshire County FA to secure a £397,100 grant from the Football Foundation.
Funded by the Premier League, The FA, and the Government (via Sport England), the Football Foundation is the country’s largest sports charity.
Since it was launched in 2000, the Foundation has awarded around 9,600 grants worth more than £412m towards improving grassroots sport, which it has used to attract additional partnership funding of over £565m.
Shirebrook Academy were also awarded £2,627 from the Youth Goalposts Fund in order to purchase new goalposts for the 3G AGP that were in line with the new rules set by the FA and relevant to the age and size of the participants.
Julie Bloor, executive principal of Shirebrook Academy, said: “The pitch is already attracting much interest amongst the community and many local players are starting to benefit from the facility – even before the onset of the winter nights.
“Football is a huge success at the Academy already, and we hope that this facility helps to continue this tradition.”
For more information about the work the Football Foundation is doing all over the country visit:www.footballfoundation.org.uk
