AN ALL-weather sports pitch proved its worth as a hundred young footballers took part in the first tournament to be held at Swindon Town’s new 3G facility.

The £2.5m scheme is expected to be fully completed by November, with the opening of a new pavilion alongside the state-of-the-art football pitch in the shadow of the County Ground.

Among the first to test out the new turf on a damp Saturday were around 100 youngsters aged 12 to 14, taking part in a football festival held jointly by Swindon Town Football in the Community Trust and the Wiltshire Football Association.

Jon Hollaway, head of the Trust, said of seeing the pitch finally being used: “It’s so special.

“Having been involved in community and grassroots football for over 20 years, one of our biggest challenges was finding good-quality sports facilities. Unfortunately, for a long time in Swindon we didn’t have many.”

Swindon Robins centre Jay-Bailey Bell, 14, from Old Town, said: “I’m excited to just play football and have a bit of fun. It’s a nice pitch. It’s flatter and more level than grass and it’s nicer to kick a ball over.”

And the pitch won the praise of Wiltshire FA chief executive Oliver Selfe: “I think it’s amazing. It gives kids the opportunity to play regardless of the weather. We’ve got a massive shortage of all-weather pitches across the area. Having this pitch in Swindon is brilliant. It means we can work with those local communities who don’t usually engage with football.”

Around two-fifths of the players in the tournament were girls and a third were from black and ethnic minority communities often underrepresented in youth sports.

Coun Junab Ali, Swindon’s first Bangladeshi mayor, praised the diversity drive: “For far too long institutions like the FA have said they want all this, but in reality nothing has been done. It’s been a token gesture.

“But this time, Oliver Selfe and the Wiltshire FA have really taken it on. They’ve come up with the goods.”

The tournament was also sponsored by Crimestoppers, the FA’s charity partner. The organisation, best known for its anonymous crime-reporting phone line, is keen to use involvement in sports as a way to stop youngsters falling into gangs.