Latest News

Football is a simple game. It involves 22 players, two goals and a ball. And when it’s done right, it’s a beautiful thing. The vast majority of resources and skills within the grassroots game have to be spent on the players and the people who look after them. But there’s a bureaucracy in the game that is diverting funds away...

Around a decade ago, the FA realised that it had to be proactive in order to stop falling participation levels in grassroots football. And to give the governing body its dues, it took the issue seriously. The following years were all about giving communities the facilities they deserve. As well as a series of investment initiatives aimed at improving playing...

It might surprise you to know that professional scouts don’t attend grassroots football matches as much as they used to. Before the digital age, a scout might watch a young player from the sidelines a dozen or more times before making an offer. These days, however, players can be signed after just one or two visits. This is because technology...

The life of a grassroots football referee is very often a thankless one. Amateur match officials get it in the neck from all sides these days — from players, coaches and spectators. So much so, there’s now a dire shortage of referees in England. Nevertheless, thousands of referees perform their duties diligently every weekend, on pitches and playing fields up...

Unless you’re involved in the business side of grassroots football, you probably don’t realise how expensive things can be at this level. After all, you wouldn’t necessarily think that some young people kicking a ball around on some grass would be all that costly. But when you delve into the figures, you might begin to wonder how so many grassroots...

The Football Association is desperately trying to make up for lost time when it comes to investing in grassroots football. And while participation levels among young male adults are still falling in England, the good news is that other demographics are coming back to the game in significant numbers. Overall, however, many believe that the grassroots game in England is...

It’s the political hot potato that has seen government ministers threaten legal intervention at the FA. Grassroots football in England is currently in a state of flux. After decades of financial neglect, the lower echelons of the game are struggling to make the most basic of ends meet. But what’s really happening beyond the hyperbole and political wrangling? The only...

There’s a long and well-established link between the state of grassroots football in England and the national team. When there’s a steady flow of talent coming through the lower echelons of the game, the future is usually bright for the nation’s Three Lions. But when things aren’t going so well, the domestic arm of elite football tends to suffer. So...

The 2018 World Cup Finals in Russia were meant to be the most controversial yet. Warnings of violence between fans, political turmoil between the host nation and the rest of the world, and concerns about stadia all proved to be a waste of time. Russia 2018 was a triumph, in every way a World Cup Finals can be. We saw...

All of the greatest footballers the game has ever produced started on the road to success with something very simple — a love of the game. Before Lionel Messi signed his first professional contract, he simply loved to play the beautiful game. Yet all too often, this love and passion for football is superseded by other factors. For some, a...