A SKY Sports anchor opened a college’s new pitch which she hopes will inspire girls to become footballers.

Hayley McQueen visited Woodhouse College, in Finchley, to mark the official opening of the pitch and speak to pupils about her career as a sports broadcaster.

She said: “It was a fantastic event. It was such a pleasure to be able to officially open the stunning new playing surface.

“You could see from the smiles on the students’ faces what a difference having nice sports facilities like this makes.

“Who knows, maybe some of them will go on to make it as professionals and I’ll be reporting on them one day too.”

The artificial grass has replaced an old sand-dressed pitch which had become unusable.

It was paid for by a £220,554 grant from the Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund, which is delivered by the Football Foundation.

The pitch will be used by students at the college, as well as AC Finchley FC, Oakhill Tigers FC, Alexandra Park Youth FC, Olympiacos Youth FC, Whetstone Wanderers FC and Old Woodhouseians FC.

Principal of Woodhouse College, John Rubinstein, said: “We are committed to encouraging our young people to be active in sporting activities of all kinds, and sport plays an important part of our enrichment programme,” said John.

“We are determined to inspire our students to keep playing the sports they love and to take advantage of the opportunities on offer.”