Merton Council officially opened its new multi-use games area (MUGA) at Canons Leisure Centre this week.

Cllr Nick Draper, Charlie Ocansey, Mayor of Merton Cllr Agatha Akyigyina, Sarah Ridley from London Marathon Charitable Trust, Nick Bitel, Chair of Sport England, Barry Causer from the council’s Public Health team and Tyron Fuller, Canons Leisure Centre Manager for GLL at the new MUGA

Following funding from both Sport England’s Inspired Facilities fund and the London Marathon Charitable Trust, the MUGA was officially opened by the Mayor of Merton, Councillor Agatha Akyigyina. The opening event was also attended by Nick Bitel, Chair of Sport England and Sarah Ridley from the London Marathon Charitable Trust.

The multi-use games area is being managed by Greenwich Leisure Ltd on behalf of the council and can be booked by contacting the centre. It can be used for football, tai-chi, softball and many other outdoor activities.

Mayor of Merton, Councillor Agatha Akyigyina, said: “It was a pleasure to open the new multi-use games area at Canons. I hope many Merton residents enjoy it for years to come.”

Merton Council’s cabinet member for community and culture, Councillor Nick Draper said: “I’m delighted that we’ve received funding from Sport England, Merton’s Public Health team and the London Marathon Charitable Trust to create this fantastic new multi-use games area for our residents on the disused tennis court behind the leisure centre. This facility will help people become more active and healthy and is just one of the many great sporting amenities we have in Merton. I would particularly encourage local residents to visit and make use of this new games area.”

Sport England Property Director, Charles Johnston, said: “The Inspired Facilities Fund has had a huge impact on grassroots sport across the country. Since 2011, we’ve invested £94 million into more than 1,800 projects to improve and refurbish sports clubs and transform non-sporting venues into vibrant community sports clubs.”

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