Ward was joined by Phil Alexander, chief executive at Palace, at Darrick Wood School for the unveiling after a £190,824 grant from the Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund made it possible.
The pair officially opened the £370,000 refurbished 3G artificial pitch and watched on as pupils tested out the new facility under the guidance of Crystal Palace’s Foundation coaches.
"The upgrade to a 3G surface has a multitude of benefits for players and coaches alike"
Phil Alexander, Crystal Palace chief executive
"The new 3G pitch at Darrick Wood School is a great project for Crystal Palace to be involved in," Palace chief executive Phil Alexander said.
"The upgrade to a 3G surface has a multitude of benefits for players and coaches alike, and is a facility the pupils will get many years of enjoyment.
"I am delighted, too, that the Crystal Palace Foundation will deliver school and community sessions on this pitch."
He added: "The Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund should be praised for putting vital funds into a worthwhile project."
An additional £79,908 came from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities Fund, which to date, has helped more than 1,600 local sports projects across the country.
The school also received a further £80,000 grant from the Mayor of London Sports Facilities Fund.
"I am delighted that Darrick Wood School now has these incredible new facilities," said Boris Johnson, The Mayor of London.
"We want to help clubs to improve their facilities, so even more Londoners get the chance to get active and participate in sport. This is exactly the sort of project that will help us achieve that goal."
"Without funding from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund our dream could not have been realised"
Barbara Rhymaun, head teacher of Darrick Wood
Many of the new state-of-the-art facilities will serve to strengthen the connection between professional football clubs and their local communities, particularly in the most deprived areas of the country, through the professional clubs’ community trusts’ outreach work.
Barbara Rhymaun, head teacher of Darrick Wood School, said: "Without funding from the Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund our dream could not have been realised, so we owe them and everyone who has worked hard to make this happen a huge debt of gratitude.
"This facility will be a wonderful asset for the School for many years to come, and with help from the Crystal Palace Foundation and Orpington FC we are now able to offer the local community the opportunity to take part in sport in a safe and friendly environment."
Funded by the Premier League, The FA, and the Government, via Sport England, the Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund is delivered by the Football Foundation, the country’s largest sports charity.
Since it was launched in 2000, the Foundation has awarded around 13,000 grants worth more than £500m towards improving grassroots sport, which it has used to attract additional partnership funding of over £700m – over £1.2bn of investment into the game.
