New housing development The Green Quarter in Southall from Berkeley Group has become Southall FC’s kit sponsor for the new 2023/24 football season.
As part of the sponsorship deal, the 152-year-old club, which plays in the Isthmian South Central league, will have The Green Quarter branding on its first team’s team’s home, away and training club kit. The sponsorship also sees Berkeley Group and Southall FC running a community engagement programme to encourage young people to take up sport.
The club, which in March 2022, said it is in discussions with Ealing Council to “Bring Southall Home” has expressed interest in being based at Warren Farm. The move has also caused concern for locals who say they want Warren Farm to be granted nature reserve status due to the ecological importance of the area and not have it developed on.
Berkeley Group joins other sponsors for the season including restaurant Kulcha Express and social media platform Chingari.
Dave Considine, secretary of Southall FC said: “Southall as a community is thriving thanks to partnership and visions such as ours, and I am personally thrilled to see how The Green Quarter has enhanced the exact place of my birth, and how the improvements and opportunity that it brings fits with Southall FC’s vision to work together on diverse and exciting programmes encouraging local children to play football not just in the community but competitively through our new academy.”
Mr Considine added: “With The Green Quarter on our shirts, we can achieve great things this season both on and off the pitch.”
Marcus Blake, regional managing director of St George City, Berkeley said: “I am very proud of our partnership with Southall FC. Sport brings people together and supports our physical health and mental wellbeing. Southall FC delivers all this and more, including by hosting community football events to encourage everyone to give it a try, and this sponsorship is a perfect fit for us.”
He added: “At The Green Quarter, we hope to play our part in this too by creating a place filled with nature and green space, to encourage people to enjoy the outdoors, for exercise or as a place for the community to come together.”
Berkeley Group has also begun a consultation for phases 4-9 of Southall’s The Green Quarter. Locals are being invited to express their views on ideas being proposed which could see up to 5,000 additional homes being created on top of the existing 2,538 that have been built or are still being built in phases 1-3.
The Green Quarter development has been built on land that was once known as Southall Gasworks. Locals living near the area, previously marketed as Southall Waterside, have raised health concerns about the development of the brownfield land but has said the land has been remediated.
Prior to being developed as The Green Quarter, the land was used as a car park for Heathrow Airport.
Currently The Green Quarter has more than 1,000 people living in over 600 homes already completed. The development includes an amphitheatre, children’s play area and open space while Parkside Yards, was launched early summer and features leisure facilities including cafe, shopping, outdoor piazza and nature trail.
