Supporting football with financial boost

Focus on disabled, youth and womens sides

DESFORD’S Catepillar FC is among 14 clubs to receive a share of £36,000 from the Football Foundation and Leicestershire and Rutland FA.

Each club involved will receive a maximum of £1,500 which will help towards the cost of starting a new team, including kit, coaching qualifications, equipment and training facilities.

The funding is part of the Grow the Game scheme, which is designed to increase partici- pation in the game by underrepresented groups, in particular women and girls, disabled players and boys and mean’s teams from the Under-15 age group and above, the age where most boys and men stop playing football due to external influences.

Shaun Waite, football development officer and Leicestershire and Rutland FA, said: “Setting up a new team has financial implications for clubs, which can at times present a team from being developed.

“This investment will therefore go some way in seeing new teams developed in our priority areas, which has the potential to provide opportunities for up to 330 new players, of various ages, genders and availabilities.

“We thank our partners at the Football Foundation for their continued funding support, which is much needed to ensure we can continue to grow the game in this country.”

As well as this Leicestershire and Rutland FA have invested £6,750 into Charter Standard Clubs through the Charter Standard Growth Fund.

Through funding provided by Sport England via The FA Whole Sport Plan, the funding will be directly provided to 10 Standard clubs in Leicestershire and Rutland, which will result in a minimum of nine new all-female teams, a minimum of one new disability football team ahead of the 2016/7 season.

Application for Grow the Game funding will re-open in early 2017, and for more information on the scheme visit www.footballfoundation.org.uk

For more information on female football, and disability and inclusive football in Leicestershire visit www.leicestershirefa.com