Years of underinvestment have left thousands of grassroots sports facilities across the UK in a state of almost complete disrepair. And while local councils and sports associations are grappling with the cost of living crisis, money to put this travesty right is in very short supply. So when the UK Government announced a national funding programme for England, Scotland, Wales...
Rishi Sunak has come out in support of grassroots football in the UK more than once since he became Chancellor. But when he made an appearance at Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub last month, there was cause for real optimism. With more than 20 girls in attendance at Brentford FC Community Sports Trust’s new training facility, the Chancellor spoke of what...
The UK Government’s austerity measures have taken a heavy toll on local authority finances in recent years. Councillors have met the challenge by, among other things, selling assets and slashing costs wherever possible. Essential public services are rightly being ring-fenced from these measures. But initiatives, facilities and land related to sporting endeavours have not. And the consequences have been devastating...
It’s hard to read anything about grassroots football these days without hearing about the hardship that local clubs, associations and players are being forced to endure. There’s more money in the game than ever before, yet there are still thousands of young players being forced to play on dangerously worn pitches every weekend. After several years of public pressure, the...
Earlier this year a non-binding vote of no confidence in the House of Commons sent a clear message to the Football Association: reform, or we’ll do it for you. While this wasn’t the first time the game’s governing body has come to blows with the UK government, the unprecedented step of threatening legislation will have reverberated down the corridors of...
Years of underinvestment have left thousands of grassroots sports facilities across the UK in a state of almost complete disrepair. And while local councils and sports associations are grappling with the cost of living crisis, money to put this travesty right is in very short supply. So when the UK Government announced a national funding programme for England, Scotland, Wales...
Rishi Sunak has come out in support of grassroots football in the UK more than once since he became Chancellor. But when he made an appearance at Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub last month, there was cause for real optimism. With more than 20 girls in attendance at Brentford FC Community Sports Trust’s new training facility, the Chancellor spoke of what...
The UK Government’s austerity measures have taken a heavy toll on local authority finances in recent years. Councillors have met the challenge by, among other things, selling assets and slashing costs wherever possible. Essential public services are rightly being ring-fenced from these measures. But initiatives, facilities and land related to sporting endeavours have not. And the consequences have been devastating...
It’s hard to read anything about grassroots football these days without hearing about the hardship that local clubs, associations and players are being forced to endure. There’s more money in the game than ever before, yet there are still thousands of young players being forced to play on dangerously worn pitches every weekend. After several years of public pressure, the...
Earlier this year a non-binding vote of no confidence in the House of Commons sent a clear message to the Football Association: reform, or we’ll do it for you. While this wasn’t the first time the game’s governing body has come to blows with the UK government, the unprecedented step of threatening legislation will have reverberated down the corridors of...