1,570 new grassroots football teams and 3,405 newly-trained coaches have been created thanks to a £2.36m investment from Grow the Game – an FA and Football Foundation initiative designed to increase participation amongst underrepresented groups.

Grow the Game is designed to increase participation at the lowest levels of the game with grants of £1,500 available for each new team that a club creates. The funding can help a burgeoning club pay for the fundamentals, including: FA coaching courses; FA league affiliation costs; referees’ fees; first aid kits; and even football kit & equipment.

The FA’s £2.36m was awarded to 728 clubs by the Football Foundation, which delivers the Grow the Game scheme on behalf of the national governing body for football. An unprecedented number of applications from grassroots clubs applying for Grow the Game grants saw The FA increase their original £1.5m commitment by an additional £860,000 in order to meet the demand.

As a result, this year’s Grow the Game scheme is projected to create:

  • 642 male teams
  • 703 female teams
  • 43 mixed teams
  • 182 disability teams

Players-wise, this can be broken down to:

  • 11,881 male players
  • 8,561 female players
  • 1,504 male disabled players
  • 567 female disabled players

The scheme is currently closed but opens up throughout the year.

To find out more about Grow the Game funding, click here; https://www.footballfoundation.org.uk/funding-schemes/grow-the-game/