Portsmouth Football Club and Pompey Women are delighted to announce a new strategic partnership with Havant & Waterlooville Football Club.
The long-term agreement means that Jay Sadler’s side will be training and playing all their home matches at Westleigh Park.
The Hawks recently announced they would be installing a state-of-the-art 3G surface, which will be ready to host Pompey Women’s first home league fixture against Plymouth on Sunday, October 11.
Due to last season’s record rainfall, Pompey were plagued by postponements, with plenty of fixtures cancelled because of a waterlogged pitch at their former Baffins home.
Moving their games to Havant & Waterlooville’s ground – which has an ‘A’ grade certificate and 6,000 capacity – will ensure this becomes a thing of the past.
The club are also hopeful that securing a regular home with such fantastic facilities will further increase the side’s ever-growing attendances.
The partnership also strengthens the already fantastic relationship between Pompey and the Hawks, with the respective men’s sides playing an annual pre-season friendly at Westleigh Park.
Pompey Women chairman Eric Coleborn said: “We are delighted to call Westleigh Park our home for the coming season and are looking forward to training and playing there.
“It is exciting to be working closely with our friends at Havant & Waterlooville and we cannot wait to start the new campaign.
"We are delighted to call Westleigh Park our home for the coming season and are looking forward to training and playing there."
“We are also extremely grateful to Baffins Milton Rovers for hosting us at the PMC Stadium for the past two years and wish them all the best for the coming season.”
Pompey Women head coach Jay Sadler added: “This move is one that excites everyone connected with the club.
“Last season's issues with the weather obviously made it difficult for us to gain any momentum – both on and off the pitch.
“The club’s main aim over the off-season was to rectify this situation and with the guaranteed use of Havant and Waterlooville’s state-of-the-art facilities, we've managed just that.
“Not only will this help us move forward on the pitch, but off it we can grow our fantastic fan-base and hopefully continue inspiring the next generation.
“A huge thank you has to go to our board, as well as members of Portsmouth FC, who have worked hard on this and it’s great to see our ambitions align.
“Our aim is to be a leading club in this division and, once we move into these new facilities, we will be in that position.”
Stuart Munro, CEO of Havant & Waterlooville Football Club, commented: “As a club, we have traditionally had very close ties with Portsmouth Football Club. This partnership will only strengthen the already close-knit relationship between the two sides.
“The board at Havant & Waterlooville have invested in this 3G pitch for community use and we are delighted to announce this partnership, which further strengthens our commitment to the local community. We look forward to seeing this relationship flourish over the coming years.”
An exciting partnership for everyone connected with the club. Huge thanks to @Pompey and @HWFCOfficial for all their support in making this happen! ⚽️🔵 https://t.co/tTWz7jrONn
— Jay Sadler (@Sadler004) September 3, 2020