The Football Foundation in Detail
Football and the Government teamed up in July 2000 to launch a brand new body to deliver a multi-million pound investment programme for footballs grass roots. The Football Foundation is based on a funding partnership of the FA Premier League, the Football Association, Government, the New Opportunities Fund and Sport England. In its first year alone £24 million was available for investment in the game, rising to £60 million per annum from year two.
In collaboration with its partners, the Football Foundation aims to revolutionise the whole funding process for grass roots football by pooling resources, including Sport England Lottery, into a huge fund for redistribution throughout the game. For the first time, football in this country will have a single strategy with one combined pot of money to deliver substantial investment into improving facilities and services.
Three quarters of the total budget (i.e. £45 million per annum from year two) is devoted to the grass roots, improving pitches and changing facilities at our schools and in the parks. A further £7.5 million is available for new community and education projects, such as study support centres, community coaching schemes and social inclusion initiatives.
The Foundations sister body, the Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF), continues to support (at £7.5 million pa) a programme of stadia safety and improvement work in the lower leagues as well as funding the next generation of stadium including better provision for disabled fans, families and the community.
With this new funding partnership, the Foundation aims to mirror the transformation we have seen in the quality of our league grounds, by making our grass roots facilities the envy of Europe, if not the world.
The main aims of the Foundation are:
- To put in place a new generation of modern football facilities in parks, local leagues and schools;
- To provide revenue support for the running of grass routes football;
- To strengthen the links between football and the community and to harness its potential as a force for good in society;
- To provide funding through (FSIF) for improvements to football grounds at the lower levels, delivering modern family and community facilities and facilities for people with disabilities;
- To revolutionise the whole funding process for grass routes football.
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