Northamptonshire FA is now offering its affiliated clubs access to reduced prices on verti-draining.

Verti-draining is a process that alleviates compaction in pitches, enabling a number of improvements, such as better root depth and soil profile, which leads to pitches having better quality or enhanced carrying capacity - particularly if the process is repeated periodically.

We have been working in partnership with Premiership Lawncare for a couple of cycles, and they have proved themselves as excellent professionals in administering this service.

If you would like to express an interest in having them visit and verti-drain your site, please call Mark Petitt on 07765405781 to agree a price and a provisional date.

We are still willing to verti-drain local authority sites, but will require written permission of the council to do so. For sites that have yet to be pitch tested, we carry out this process for £100. This includes a free visit and further support - and is carried out by independent professionals.

Many of you will also notice that due to the hot, dry summer, many pitches are still very hard and cracked. We will not undertake any verti-draining until it is suitable to do so, ensuring that the service you are paying for is carried out at the correct time for your site, to maximise impact.

We look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible to the scheme.