Over the course of this football season, WaiBOP Football has scheduled games at 141 locations across the region, utilising nearly 600 pitches each weekend.

Unfortunately, in recent months, several pitches in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty have been damaged by cars and dirt bikes. Vandals have broken gates and fences to gain access to deliberately destroy playing surfaces.  

Most of the pitches are council-owned and maintained and exist in public spaces that are available for community use. Activities in these spaces are covered by local bylaws created and enforced by the 16 councils that operate across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions. In some spaces, no dogs are allowed. In others, golf and horses are not allowed. In all, cars and motorbikes are not permitted without permission. 

The vandalism is heartbreaking for the volunteers who work hard to ensure pitches are football-ready. It forces us to spend time rescheduling games at alternative locations, time that could be better spent on other projects for our football community.

Thank you to our football community and clubs who have offered alternative training venues and accommodated venue changes for games, so that our players don’t miss out.

This behaviour is disheartening and undermines the spirit of the game. The costs to fix the damage – which can be high, especially if irrigation systems are damaged – comes back to ratepayers and to our football clubs.

WaiBOP Football condemns this reckless damage to our football fields and we urge everyone to report any vandalism to the police. If you can safely record video or take photos, these can be provided to the police. 

If you see anyone causing damage to pitches, please call the Police.

• If it's happening now, or someone’s in danger, call 111
• If it’s already happened, use the non-emergency number 105

Article added: Tuesday 10 September 2024