Winchester City Football Club has partnered with the University of Winchester in a three-year agreement.
The agreement was signed amongst the backdrop of activity at Winchester City’s home ground where the construction of a new £1m 3G Astroturf pitch is underway.
The FA Foundation and Winchester City Council are jointly funding the overhaul.
Notably, along with the astroturf, the renovation also features new LED floodlights, repositioned stands, and improved resurfacing of the parking area.
The key objective is to encourage wider community use of the ground.
An example comes from Winchester City Flyers, the women’s team, who also play at the ground.
As per the agreement, the university will support the club both on and off the pitch.
Club chairman Kenneth Raisback said: "Finally seeing the astro pitch being constructed gives me huge delight after several years of hard work by a number of people. And whilst a lot is being said about the pitch, its more what it enables that excites me most.
"This partnership with the University is a great example of that and very much aligned with our ambition of using football as a vehicle to positively impact the local community.
"Its a genuine privilege to partner with the University and whilst we have many great initiatives planned, it is only the beginning of what I hope is a long and mutually beneficial relationship."
Sam Jones, pro vice chancellor at the University of Winchester, said: "It is great to be teaming up with Winchester City to boost youth and community involvement in sports and higher education.
"This is a welcome collaboration that will really benefit the community and provide our students with valuable hands-on learning experiences."
The University of Winchester will lend its medical expertise, as well, with its faculty of health and wellbeing conducting pre-season tests on players.
Additionally, there will be yearly club placements for physiotherapy and sports and exercise science students.
Winchester City FC's new season kicks off on August 10, where they face Marlow sporting their new University-sponsored blue and black away strip.
Their fans can expect to purchase the new shirt from the club shop, come September.
As the work on the new pitch is due to overlap with the start of the season, the first two home games will be played elsewhere.
The club eyes returning to their fixture on the new home turf either in late August or early September.
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