Birkenhead United AFC has received almost $60,000 from the Kaipātiki Local Board to help upgrade its facilities at Beach Haven’s Shepherds Park in readiness for the FIFA Women’s World Cup next month.
The Birkenhead club will host the Italian team, ranked 16 in the world, as their base and training centre as they compete in the tournament.
“We are delighted the Italian team will be based at our park. These upgrades will not only support this important international event but provide knock on benefits for the Kaipātiki community and the board is happy to be part of that,” says Kaipātiki Local Board Chair John Gillon.
Along with major refurbishments to the club’s existing facilities, the upgrades have increased the number of changing rooms from four to eight and added a new medical room, accessible toilet and 16 unisex showers.
The club has also installed a covered deck in the space above the changing rooms, providing a new 200-meter squared space available for wider community use. Access has been improved with a 2.9 metre-wide access pathway in the front of the club and significant upgrades to tracks and paths in and around Shepherds Park.
Birkenhead United AFC President David Williams says the board has been an amazing ally to the club while they prepared for the FIFA event.
“The board have been fantastic to deal with over the years and we wouldn't be where we are today without their support. This really is a transformational project that will benefit the mokopuna of Kaipātiki.”
Council has also supplied new sports lights and field upgrades to Shepherds Parks as part of a region wide upgrade to the eight Auckland clubs hosting competing teams in the FIFA event which is being jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand across nine cities.
Tataki Auckland Unlimited expects the event to bring in $60 million in regional gross domestic product, 130,000 visitor nights and a global broadcast reach of more than 1.2 billion.
