By Neil Glasspool.
Hythe & Dibden Youth FC, which provides football opportunities for 650 young players, has opened a resurfaced 3G pitch and new pavilion at Applemore College, giving it a permanent home for the first time in its 27-year history.
The club, which has twice been named Hampshire FA Grassroots Club of the Year (in 2019 and 2023), is supported by around 160 adult volunteers, and has grown substantially since the original 3G pitch was installed in 2017. In fact, the club now has more registered players than the number of pupils on roll at the College.
The sharpest change has been in the girls’ game. Hampshire FA’s facilities case study credits the pitch with growing the club’s female pathway by 5,000% in eight years.
Sacha Nicholas, Hampshire FA Facilities & Investment Manager was full of praise for the club: “Going back to 2016, Applemore had not really been a community site before. There was a growing community club with capacity issues, and it had been difficult to get girls’ football going. There was a massive need in the area which needed to be filled. This project has been a real success story, and it shows what can be achieved if you do things properly.”
More than 200 girls now play for Hythe & Dibden, with a clear route through to women’s football, and the club expects that number to keep climbing.
Steve Norris, the club’s Girls Football Development Officer, said a reliable all-weather surface had been particularly important.
“I think if we were calling off training sessions left, right and centre we would have far less than the nearly 200 who we have today,” he said.
The original artificial pitch was installed through a partnership involving national and local funders, including Sport England, the FA, the RFU and the council. Since then, all fees paid to use the facility have gone into a dedicated resurfacing fund managed by Applemore College, to pay for the surface to be replaced roughly every 10 years.
Jamie Burton, Health & Partnership Manager at New Forest District Council, said the partnership between the school, club and football authorities had secured the facility’s future.
“It is an investment from everybody to ensure that everybody can continue to use a great facility.”
Clare Williams, Headteacher of Applemore College, also explained how the shared site has become an important part of how the college presented itself to the families of potential students.
“When you go into primary schools it is really clear as a selling point. There are loads of students we talk to in Year 6 who basically choose here because they play for Hythe and Dibden. It always gets a big cheer when you talk about it. From the community aspect, that is the biggest jewel.”
The opening of the new pavilion is also a big step up away from the pitch. Since 2020, the club has operated from three donated shipping containers under temporary planning permission.
The new pavilion, built above the container structure, provides home and away changing rooms, additional toilets, a kitchen and kiosk, secure equipment storage and a classroom large enough for a full squad. The improved facilities are expected to help support further growth in girls’ and women’s football.
Looking to the future, James Golding, Hythe & Dibden Youth FC Chairman, explained just what an important moment this was for the club, community and young players of today and tomorrow.
“We’re proud to have been able to call Applemore our home for the last nine years. Now it really feels like a home, for the long term. This building alongside the resurfaced 3G pitch will give us the platform to maintain and build on all of the great work that’s been done in the past, as well as being a legacy for future generations.”
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