This month, Southland Football has begun work on its brand-new all-weather turf, marking a major advance for the sport in the southern region.

After years of planning, funding applications, and launching a fundraising campaign – Pitch in Southland – the organisation has secured the $970,000 needed to bring the long-awaited project to life.

Work has already started and, all going well, it should be complete in March – ready for another exciting football season.

The new turf will replace the existing surface at Turnbull Thomson Park and be faster, softer and more environmentally friendly with no rubber infill. It will be capable of hosting multiple games a day and, with advances in technology, will considerably reduce the risk of injury.

While it has been years in the planning, the project has only been made possible thanks to generous funders, including the Lottery Grants Board, ILT Foundation, Invercargill Licensing Trust and the Rio Tinto NZAS and Murihiku Rūnaka Community Development Fund.

Southland Football contributed its own funds, too, however with a shortfall remaining it appealed to the public to get it across the line.

The new turf will replace the existing surface at Turnbull Thomson Park. Photo: Supplied

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Along with many individual and family contributions – including a significant donation from Southland Football life member and long-time football administrator Bill McLean – it was the local business community that really heeded the call, with a number of businesses opting to support via sponsorship packages.

Just some of the sponsors who pitched in included Invercargill Motors, Aotea Electric, Embrace Orthadontics, NAS Orthapedics, Deep South Glass, Maxis Projects and WM Environmental, with many others also contributing.

Southland Football Football Development and Operations Manager Iain Walker says it has been heartening to see how many local businesses stepped in to offer support.

“We’re really very grateful to our local funders, local businesses and individuals and families for sharing our vision for this new community asset and supporting it not only financially but really advocating for the sport in general,” he says.

“Football is in a great place and it’s only getting better. The new turf will make a significant difference for our local players – from those in our first kicks programme to our high performance academy players – but it's also going to make Invercargill a really appealing place to host tournaments, so that’s exciting.”

“We’re more than happy to collaborate with other sports and organisations, too, who want to use the space – we see it as a real community asset.”

“We can’t wait to get players out there to experience the new space; it’s going to be fantastic,” Iain says.