Ahead of Saturday’s under-18 Muratti, which is set to become the first Muratti in history to be played on an artificial surface, Davidson has outlined the importance of community acceptance for the state-of-the-art pitch and says it could be the first of many as local football moves well and truly into the 21st century.
Installed with the financial backing of the States of Jersey and the Football Foundation, Springfield is now able to give Islanders of all ages greater opportunity to improve their game, and will host week-day community and club football training sessions throughout the year. It will be used throughout the NatWest Island Games in June and July and will also stage Jersey Football Combination league matches every week from the beginning of the 2015/16 season.
‘Once players have been on it they’ll want to keep playing on it,’ said Davidson.
‘Gone are the days when we want to play on a bumpy pitch in the middle of the winter when it’s all muddy, these are the surfaces that kids want to play on and we need to move well into the 21st century. What would you rather have … a first class facility where the ball runs and bounces true, or a bumpy pitch?
‘It’s a massive investment from the Football Foundation and the States to improve facilities and football, so people shouldn’t pre-judge this. They should come down and have a look at this pitch and see how it runs and plays. I want people to understand that this is for the benefit for football and the community, and I’d invite anyone who is reluctant to play on it to just come down and have a look.
‘I have encouraged clubs to come and try it and from now until the end of the season it’s going to be available on an ad-hoc basis. If a club wants to come down and spend £40 for an hour I guarantee the players will want to come back … why wouldn’t they? I’ve played football for a long time and I would want to play on this 3G pitch.
‘We’ve never been able to play two games a day, but you can on here, and it gives you the opportunity to make a better atmosphere.
‘For example we could have junior teams playing one after another with family and friends all watching; how good would that be with the facilities and the café that we’ve got here?
‘I can’t say enough how good this will be, we just need people to come down and recognise that it is a fantastic surface to play on. We accept that people don’t like change, but this is a positive change which will benefit football, schools, and the community as a whole.’
