FOOTBALLERS and netball players have netted another £40,000 grant towards a £2.1m facelift of their facilities.

The money means Oxford City Football Club and Oxfordshire Netball are looking forward to playing on new pitches and courts at Court Place Farm, in Marston, by the autumn.

The donation, from Oxford Sports Council, will be added to £1.4m of grant funding for the ‘Community Arena’ project.

The clubs have so far raised more than £300,000 themselves, and are redoubling their efforts to reach their final target.

The existing facilities, used by thousands of footballers and netball players, frequently become waterlogged.

The investment will provide a full-size floodlit artificial grass pitch, six floodlit all-weather netball courts and a changing pavilion.

Sue Blackshaw, facilities coordinator for Oxfordshire Netball said the improvements scheme had been a long time coming for the association’s 1,200 members.

She said: “This is a huge investment in sports in Oxfordshire, an investment in both senses of the word.

“We hear regularly how one in four of our children and adults are either overweight or obese, so projects such as this are more important now than ever before.”

Colin Taylor, volunteer managing director at Oxford City FC, said: “It’s wonderful to see Oxford Sport Council able to support such a high-profile community facility, the need for which has been driven by participants in the sports, who will be best placed to deliver their team sports in the future.

“In view of the concerns over the health and well-being of our young people, this project will assist in providing for many more opportunities to introduce children, as well as returning adults, to netball and football.”

In August, it was announced the project had been awarded £732,194 by the Football Foundation. Its sister organisation, the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, gave a £83,445 grant.

Sport England offered £350,000 lottery funding from its Sustainable Facilities Fund, England Netball pitched in £60,000, and a further grant of £200,000 was made by the Football Association The sports council is a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation comprising members from the city’s sports groups and clubs.