Grassroots footie is under the cosh
I AM concerned for the future of grassroots football. Financial pressures are causing lots of local clubs to fold. I am club manager and chairman of denham United, which is in division 1 of the High Wycombe Sunday Combination. We started the season with 11 teams in the division, but now there are only seven. The combination’s Premier division also started with 11, but is down to six. Both leagues have resorted to three fixtures per team to try to give everyone the opportunity to continue playing football past January. There are high costs associated with running a football club, even at Sunday League level. I have spent years project managing and getting funding and backing to achieve our dream of having our own ground. The pitch has been ready for this season, but changing rooms and other facilities are still being developed. We have local sponsorship from the village pub and were given some match balls at the start of season as part of being an FA Charter club. Other than this, we are reliant on players paying their subs to fund kits, referees, maintain the pitch, hire training facilities and pay insurance and league fees. We don’t sell tickets or merchandise. I know the FA lost a lot of funding as a result of the pandemic. The cancelling of coaching and referee courses has resulted in a shortage of qualified officials. I’ve been waiting for three years to move onto my level two badge. Why can’t the course be moved online and then an assessor be sent to evaluate me putting on a training session for my team? I have an idea for the FA that could set up a fund to help save grassroots teams from going under. I was surprised to discover that Premier League players’ fines for yellow and red cards are the same as for players at my level. We pay £12 for a yellow and between £40 and £55 for a red, depending on whether it was two yellows or a straight red. It seems ridiculous that my players pay the same fines as those at a club like Manchester City. After all, the lowest paid Premier League squad player earns more in a week than I do in a year. If the fines were higher for professional players, the FA could use this revenue to help small, local football teams. My club is well supported with more than 3,000 followers on social media and we organise charity events. I love football and helping others because without volunteers at this level, we wouldn’t have any matches to play. Coming out of the pandemic is a window of opportunity to do better for the heart and soul of the English game. We need to encourage more people to get involved with local football, establish more clubs and bring on the next generation of players.