Saints legend Matt Le Tissier was at Mountbatten School in Romsey to officially open a new sports facility this week.

The project, which has seen a third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch (AGP) constructed at the Hampshire school, was made possible thanks to a £312,294 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund and £12,500 from Test Valley Borough Council.

Le Tiss, who made 540 appearances and scored 209 goals for Saints, said: “much of Saints’ recent success has been due to talented, young, home-grown players progressing from the academy into the first team.

“For that reason I’m so pleased to open this excellent new facility.

“High quality playing surfaces are vitally important in aiding the technical development of young players and now pupils at Mountbatten and local clubs will be able to reap the benefits. It’s great to see money from the top of the professional game being invested into the grassroots and with facilities like these, I’m sure we’ll see Southampton produce many more stars of the future.”

The facility, which will be open to use for the general public, will provide greater sporting opportunities for young pople in Romsey.

“Our Mountbatten students and all local primary school children are now able to enjoy year round sporting opportunities,”said Mountbatten’s executive head-teacher, Heather McIlroy, said.