Youth football welcomes Anderson help

Edinburgh-based philanthropist James Anderson who has already donated more than £3 million to the men’s senior game, and £250,000 for women’s football will now donate £300,000 to youth football teams across the country.

Anderson is joint manager of the £10 billion Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust for Baillie Gifford and also holds stakes in global conglomerates such as Amazon, Facebook, Tesla and Netflix.

In 2014 he agreed to underwrite Hearts’ shirt sponsorship to allow youth charity Save The Children to reap the benefits of branding the front of the club’s’ jerseys.

The latest donation, which comes via the Scottish Football Partnership Trust, will cover teams up to and including the under-21 age group and will also fund coaching, grassroots volunteers and first aid.

This means every Scottish Youth FA club will receive free membership for an entire season.

Over 4,000 clubs and 60,000 players will benefit from the money, which is to help with the costs of new safety measures being put in place as a result of the coronavirus.

James Clydesdale, chair of the Scottish Football Partnership Trust, said: “This will make a huge difference to a large number of clubs and tens of thousands of youngsters. Youth football needs support at a time when every level of football has been hit hard by the pandemic crisis.

“It is crucial for the long term good of the game there is not a decrease in the number of children and young people participating. We greatly appreciate James Anderson’s interest and support and have identified specific areas with the Scottish Youth FA where we can help youth football.”

The SFPT and SYFA proposals include funding to offset membership/affiliation fees for teams competing in small-sided and the eleven-aside leagues whose seasons have been disrupted.

There will also be grant support for 2,000 youth coaches and volunteers on National Sports First Aid courses delivered by the Hampden Sports Clinic and for coach education delivered via the Scottish FA.