BASINGSTOKE Town have completed works on a drainage improvement project thanks to a £4,416 grant from the Premier League.

The funding, which was awarded through the Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF), has enabled the club to complete important repair work to the drainage at The Camrose. It is hoped that less games will be postponed due to waterlogging as a result.

Rafi Razzak, chairman of Basingstoke Town, said: “The club are grateful to have been awarded a grant enabling the completion of the drainage work. To be awarded a grant covering 50 per cent of the cost is excellent.”

Funded with £5.2m each year from the Premier League, the FSIF is the country’s largest provider of grants towards projects that help improve the comfort and safety of lower league football grounds in both the professional and amateur game.

These improvements range from new football stands and turnstiles to floodlighting and improved provision for disabled supporters.

Peter McCormick OBE, chairman of the FSIF, said: “It is a fundamental principle that clubs should be able to progress competitively and not be hindered because of unsatisfactory facilities. I am pleased to see that this £4,416 grant will go towards drainage work at Basingstoke Town.

"The work of the FSIF is only possible because of the generous support of the Premier League and this investment is a further example of funding that will help to improve supporters’ experience of watching the game.”