New Burgess Park Sports Centre opens

Southwark Council, together with the UK’s largest sports charity, the Football Foundation, has proudly opened the doors to the eagerly awaited, Burgess Park Sports Centre.

With the Football Foundation awarding £2.4 million in match funding, Burgess Park Sports Centre has undergone a complete transformation.

The upgrade creates new opportunities for grassroots sport and will encourage more local people, of all ages and backgrounds, to participate.

The site, just a stone’s throw from Old Kent Road, now boasts two full-size artificial grass pitches, doubling the previous capacity, and a new pavilion with modern facilities for players, coaches, and the wider sporting community. In addition, the council has funded a fully accessible outdoor basketball court broadening the centre’s sporting offer and opening more opportunities for residents to get active.

The new facility marks the council and the Football Foundation joint commitment to expand and improve local football provision. Guided by Southwark’s Playing Pitch Strategy, which identified a shortage of football playing space, the council committed capital funding to grow its football offer, including at Burgess Park and plans for a new 5-a-side football centre at Brimmington Park.

The design of the new centre was shaped by the views of local sports clubs and community groups, ensuring it meets the real needs of those who use it. The new pavilion includes improved sightlines from the community room to the pitches, storage space for equipment, touchdown areas for club officials, and flexible community spaces.

The investment comes at a time of rapid growth in grassroots football, particularly following the success of the Lionesses and the surge of interest in women’s and girls’ football. Burgess Park Sports Centre has already embraced this growth, with programmes supporting the local Latin American women’s football league, a weekend grassroots girls’ league, and new sessions for female and LGBTQ+ players.

Burgess Park is also home to the BMX Track London, one of the largest BMX tracks in the UK.