Grenada opens first FIFA Arena mini-pitch in Gouyave

On November 6, a vibrant official opening ceremony marked the launch of Grenada’s very first FIFA Arena mini-pitch at St John’s Anglican School in Gouyave, St John, drawing a diverse crowd of football governing body representatives, local students, and community leaders. The 800-square-metre facility, spanning 40 metres by 20 metres, is purpose-built for small-sided football games and a wide range of other recreational activities, and the launch event featured lively cultural performances from the school’s steel orchestra, traditional dance troupes, vieux corps performers, and moko jumbie stilt dancers to celebrate the milestone.
Originally planned as the first of five FIFA Arena sites across the island, the project received an unexpected boost during the ceremony when FIFA President Gianni Infantino formally approved a request from Grenada Football Association (GFA) President Marlon Glean to fund four additional mini-pitches, expanding the national rollout far beyond initial projections. Glean explained that St John’s Anglican School was selected as the flagship site due to its legendary sporting legacy: the grounds have long served as a training ground for many of Grenada’s most decorated athletes, including Olympic 400-metre gold medallist Sir Kirani James. The facility will be open not just to enrolled students, but to the entire St John parish community and residents across Grenada’s West Coast. Construction on the second of the original five planned pitches is already underway at Bishop’s College in Carriacou, and a third site has been earmarked at McDonald College in St Patrick parish.
Glean shared that the GFA currently records just over 2,000 child participants in weekly football activities across the country, and the expanded network of mini-pitches will help the association hit its ambitious target of 5,000 weekly youth participants. He noted that the GFA’s ongoing youth talent development programmes and recent strong showings from Grenada’s junior national teams on the international stage make expanded local access to safe, high-quality playing fields more critical than ever.
In his address, Infantino highlighted Grenada’s memorable 3-3 comeback draw against India at the inaugural FIFA Under-15 World Cup and Festival held in Azerbaijan, where the Grenadian side erased a 3-0 deficit to earn a result that captured global attention. He emphasized that investment in local playing facilities, coaching capacity, and youth development pathways is the most effective way to unlock more opportunities for children to engage with football and compete at the international level, regardless of a nation’s geographic size or economic standing. He framed the new Gouyave pitch as an investment that delivers far broader social benefits beyond sport, helping young people build core life skills including teamwork, discipline, respect for peers, and resilience. The global FIFA Arena initiative, launched in May 2025, has a stated goal of deploying no fewer than 1,000 mini-pitches in underserved communities and school-adjacent locations across the world by 2031.
Speaking on behalf of all student users, St John’s Anglican School representative Ivana Belfon expressed enthusiastic gratitude for the new facility, noting that it will serve as a dedicated safe space for children to play, learn, and build cross-community friendships, for both experienced young football players and those who are new to the sport. She also pledged that local students would take full ownership of the pitch and maintain it in excellent condition for long-term community use.