2 H A LVE S

grassroots l level.”l ” TheTh FA h has pledgedld d to invest £ 240million into the grassroots game in the next four years, including the creation of new football “hubs” in 30 English cities.

But Waddle believes more should be done to get existing pitches up to scratch.

He said: “Park pitches s are shutting down, they cannotnot look after themselves if nobody cuts the grass andd cares for them.”

There are about 33,500 grassroots football pitches in England, 80 per cent off which are publicly owned.. Many have fallen into an increasing state of disrepairir as town hall budgets are squeezed ueezed and councils are forced to cut pitch maintenance services.

With rising costs of pitch fees, many junior clubs coaches are struggling to make ends meet. In 20 years the average cost of hiring a pitch has jumped by more thanh 1,0001 000 per cent, leavingl i some clubslb on the brink of closing. In Birmingham’s Hodge Hill, Sporting FC has seem its pitch fees soar from £800 a year in 1994 to more than £10,000. Kevin Sampson, one of the club’s junior managers, sai said: “Every passing year is a struggle.strugg “O “On top of the £10,000 pitch hir hire fees, we have league fe fees, referee charges, kit a and insurance. “All that is passed on to parents and this is a d deprived area, so in the ende it’s children who miss outou if they cannot afford to play. If we don’t get enougheno funds, the club could cease to exist.” Kenny Saunders, who launched the Save Grassroots Football campaign four years ago to fight rises in pitch fees, fears l ack of l ong- term investment from the football authori- tiesi and dh the GovernmentG isi cripplingi li clubs.lb He has seen countless matches cancelled in the winter because of waterlogged pitches and inadequate facilities.

He said: “Our facilities are so far behind Germany, Spain and other nations that it is embarrassing. Local authorities are having their budgets cut.

“That’s the biggest problem we have. Because of the cuts we have more and more teams having to pay increasing amounts of money.

“Grassroots football should be affordable and free to every kid. What we’re asking for is that everyone should pay something back into grassroots footballf b ll forf theh next generationi of f kids.”kid ” Liverpool-based coach Kenny is launching a third e-petition calling on the Premier League to back grassroots football. His last two attracted 65,000 names.

He said: “When the Premier League cut their funds to £12million the total figure available dropped because the Government match-funds the figure. So now grassroots is receiving £34million a year instead of £60million.”

“I’d like to see a special fund giving five per cent of the current TV rights income to grassroots. That would provide £400million.”

Poaching

If big clubs poach players they should pay small clubs compo

At Fletcher Moss Rangers, Dave blasts big clubs for “poaching” players from squads like his and giving nothing in return. He said: “If young players who are poached are under eight the big clubs should be forced to pay compensation to the grassroots club.” Dave also believes ex-players could chip in. “Lads like Rashford have come through and are making a good living. “They don’t clean boots any more at academies, they have someone to clean their backsides for them. They are told that they are special. “When we set up our charity it would be great if they could donate a month’s wages. They wouldn’t get taxed, they would get Gift Aid.” An FA spokesman said: “All the money we generate goes back into football. There’s a 50-50 split between investments in the professional game and the national game, effectively grassroots football.”