The pitch that became the heart of a community
September 2026
Hythe & Dibden Youth FC has reopened its resurfaced 3G pitch and a new pavilion, with 650 children, more than 200 girls and 160 adult volunteers now at a club whose facility pays for its own future
Hythe & Dibden Youth FC reopened the resurfaced 3G pitch at Applemore College on Friday 4th September, alongside their new pavilion that gives the 27 year old club a permanent home for the first time in its history.
Teams from across the club took to the new surface after a ribbon cutting at 5pm, watched by families, volunteers and guests from Hampshire FA, New Forest District Council and Applemore College.
A facility that outgrew its own school
Nine years after the original pitch was laid, the scale of what it supports is easy to underestimate. Around 650 children now play for Hythe & Dibden, more than the number of pupils on roll at the secondary school the club plays at. Another 160 adults volunteer as coaches, managers and committee members.
Set against the local population, those numbers are striking. Based on census age estimates for the parish, around one in four Hythe and Dibden children of primary and secondary school age play for the club, and roughly one in every 25 residents is directly involved in it.
The site is busy year round. Training runs between 5pm and 9pm every weeknight, and it takes an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 visits a week, with teams travelling in from across Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and West Sussex.
“It is how far the club has come, having done so well in about ten years, and so quickly. Obviously it looks amazing, and the kids are here playing now, boys and girls of all ages. The legacy is fantastic. I am hoping that it allows everyone to be a part of the club and the community, and to enjoy sport.”
Terry Cox, former Chairman, Hythe & Dibden Youth FC
Girls’ football, from a handful to more than 200
The change has been sharpest 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. 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. The role the facility has played in the explosion of girls’ football is hard to overstate. Hampshire FA have published a video case study on these results.
The club’s Girls Football Development Officer Steve Norris told the county FA: “For a lot of our girls their time at the club is their only time in football, and 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.”
“Going back to 2016, 2017, 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.”
Sacha Nicholas, Facilities & Investment Manager, Hampshire FA
A facility that funds its own replacement
The original 3G pitch was laid in 2017 through a partnership of national and local funders, including Sport England, the FA, the RFU and the council. What has happened since is less common in grassroots sport. Rather than returning to funders for another grant, every fee paid to use the pitch goes into a dedicated resurfacing fund managed by Applemore College, which pays to replace the surface roughly every ten years.
As the site’s largest user, Hythe & Dibden Youth FC contributes the bulk of that fund. In practice, the people who use the pitch have paid for its renewal, and the model will pay for the next one too.
“That partnership, with the school, with the FA, with the club, has made sure that when it came to needing to be replaced, it is here. It is investment from everybody to ensure that everybody can continue to use a great facility.”
Jamie Burton, Health & Partnership Manager, New Forest District Council
A school gate selling point
For Applemore College, the shared site has become part of how the school presents itself to the families it recruits from.
“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.”
Clare Williams, Headteacher, Applemore College
From three shipping containers to a permanent pavilion
Since 2020 the club has operated out of three donated shipping containers on temporary planning permission. The new pavilion, built on top of that structure, adds home and away changing rooms, a classroom large enough for a full squad, a kitchen and kiosk, extra toilets and secure kit and equipment storage. The changing rooms in particular are what allow the club’s girls’ and women’s sides to keep growing.
“We’re proud to have been able to call Applemore our home for the last 9 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.”
James Golding, Chairman, Hythe & Dibden YFC
Notes to editors
- Hythe & Dibden Youth FC was established in 1999 and plays and trains at Applemore College, Roman Road, Dibden Purlieu, Hythe, Southampton SO45 4RQ.
- The club is a three star England Football Accredited Club and has twice been named Hampshire FA Grassroots Club of the Year, in 2019 and 2023.
- It hosted the FA’s England DNA Roadshow in 2019 and features in Hampshire FA’s facilities case study on the long term impact of artificial 3G pitches.
https://www.hampshirefa.com/facilities-and-investment/facilities-case-studies - The club’s annual tournament draws 120 teams and around 3,500 people across three days.
- Population comparison: the participation figures above are estimates, not official statistics. They apply the 2021 Census age profile for the New Forest to a Hythe and Dibden parish population of roughly 20,500, giving an estimated 2,650 children aged 6 to 18 in the parish. They assume the club draws its players largely from the parish itself; across a wider Waterside catchment the proportion would be lower.
