Former Arsenal player Jérémie Aliadière joined Hackney mayor Phil Glanville and youngsters for a footie match when he came to open a new sports pitch in Woodberry Down.
Hackney Council, Berkeley Homes and the Arsenal Foundation invested £75,000 to revamp the estate’s sports pitch, with a larger playing surface and new lighting, goalposts and fencing.
Jérémie, who played in the Arsenal Legends v Real Madrid Legends match last September that helped raise money to pay for the new facilities, said: “It’s a pleasure to be here and help officially open the pitch.
“It’s great to see that the money raised from the Legends match has gone to good use, and I feel privileged to have been able to play my part in that. I remember how important it was to have a local place to play football when I was growing up, and from being here today I can see how much this community will benefit from the facility.”
Regular four-hour weekly training sessions will start next month.
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