Grassroots Football Gets £7m Grant

08 Oct 2014 | tshego

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The Football Foundation has awarded grants worth £7 million from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund to grassroots projects. This will support 88 grassroots facility projects across the country, worth £31 million, following a £5.8m investment into 67 projects in June.

The £7m investment will develop new sports facilities, such as floodlit third generation artificial grass pitches and modern changing rooms, across the UK.

By providing more high-quality facilities, combined with coaching at the appropriate age group, the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund aims to improve the experience for regular players, as well as attracting new players to the game. Many of the new facilities help 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 trust outreach work.

Funded by the Premier League, The FA, and the Government, via Sport England, the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund is delivered by the Football Foundation, the country’s largest sports charity.

Helen Grant MP, Minister for Sport and Equalities, said: ‘This investment from the Premier League, The FA and Government is going to make a huge difference to community sport up and down the country. The state-of-the-art 3G pitches will encourage greater participation all-year round as well as help develop the next generation of talent.’

Commenting on the grants, Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive of the Premier League, said: ‘Through the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, the Premier League continues to invest in grassroots football and in doing so lays the foundations for the future development of football in England. Our commitment to the grassroots game is unprecedented and unparalleled with hundreds of millions of pounds being invested by us into the game which benefits communities across the county.’

Alex Horne, General Secretary of The FA, said: ‘The investment by The FA through the Football Foundation continues to make a genuine impact on the quality of football facilities up and down the country. This latest tranche of funding presents even more opportunities to boost grassroots and deliver a highly efficient investment programme into facilities across the country.’