Trust nets £25k in huge victory for grass roots
STUART PIKE
HYNDBURN residents are set to benefit from more than £24,000 in fresh investment into local grass football facilities.
Accrington Stanley Community Trust (ASCT) have been awarded £19,373 from the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation, to upgrade the grass pitches at the Stanley Sports Hub with new equipment.
This grant will enable ASCT to invest in multiple new goalposts, a 50m ball stop net and a storage container to house grass machinery equipment. They have also this week confirmed a further £5,000 award from the same partners from the Pitch Preparation Fund (PPF), set up in support of the game as it faces unprecedented challenges because of COVID19. The Trust worked with the Football Foundation and the Lancashire FA to secure the larger grant.
Teams across the borough will be able to enjoy better quality pitches and new equipment, which will represent a significant improvement on the existing grass pitches at the site
Martin Fearon, CEO of ASCT, said: “Football makes a huge difference to the players, coaches and community here. We see first-hand the impact on players’ confidence, physical health and mental focus. To receive this funding from the Premier League, The FA and the Government through the Football Foundation means a lot to us, as it will help us to further improve grassroots sport in the area and get even. more people involved in the nation’s favourite game.”
The PPF grant will enable the Trust to prepare their football pitches at the Stanley Sports Hub, on Thorneyholme Road, so that they are match-fit for when it is safe to play football again, following Government advice.
It can be used to help pay for the cost of materials, work such as vertidraining, chain harrowing, rolling, over-seeding, fertilising, weed-killing, and routine preparatory work such as grass cutting and the setting out and line-marking of pitches.