Grassroots football is set to benefit from £102m of investment over the next three years after The FA, the Premier League, and the government launched a new fund for developing new or refurbished facilities. The Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund will be delivered by the Football Foundation, starting in mid-January 2014. To mark the new funding announcement, the newly-appointed Minister for Sport and Equalities, Helen Grant MP, The FA's general secretary, Alex Horne, Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, Football Foundation chief executive, Paul Thorogood and Charles Johnston, Sport England director of property, today at the site of two third generation artificial grass pitches on the border of Southwark and Lambeth that were refurbished with a Football Foundation grant this autumn. This £102m of new investment will enable the Football Foundation to continue to support grassroots facility projects across the country, which will improve the experience of playing the national game at the lowest levels and help to increase participation in football. By encouraging more people to play the game on high-quality surfaces coupled with coaching at the appropriate age group, the funding will help to improve participation, and help increase the footballing talent pool across the country. Many of the new state-of-the-art facilities will serve to strengthen the connection between professional football clubs and their local communities, particularly in the most deprived areas of the country, through the professional clubs' community trusts' outreach work. The Football Foundation was set up by The FA, the Premier League, and the Government in 2000. Since then 9,600 grants worth a total £412m have been awarded thanks to investment from those three funding partners. The Foundation has used this to attract more than £565m of additional partnership funding into the grassroots game. Last year alone 741,801 people played sport at Foundation sites with 63,702 sporting qualifications also gained at the new facilities. Helen Grant MP, Minister for Sport and Equalities, said: "This partnership between the Premier League, the FA, Sport England and Government shows what can be achieved when the public and private sectors work together to help strengthen our national game at the grassroots. "The investment of £102 million into facilities, delivered by the Football Foundation, will encourage many people to get into sport in some of the most deprived areas of the country. Sport has a unique power to change lives for the better and this will make a positive impact in many local communities." Alex Horne, The FA's general secretary, said: "The funding that The FA has invested through the Football Foundation has dramatically improved local football facilities up and down the country and is a key part of The FA's four-year National Game Strategy, a £200 million investment into the grassroots game. "These enhanced facilities increase opportunities for young people to become involved in football, whether as players or coaches, and it is this work which feeds into helping to produce the next generation of English football talent. "Our announcement really is an excellent example of how much can be achieved when football's governing bodies work in partnership with Government to deliver a highly efficient investment programme into facilities across the country." Richard Scudamore, Premier League chief executive, added: "Premier League clubs are committed to playing an active role as hubs of their communities, particularly in the area of sports participation, from the grassroots level through to their Academies. The Premier League and the FA Facilities Fund will help them to support a new generation of facilities across the country, particularly in the most deprived areas. "Having been a Trustee of the Football Foundation since the very start, I have seen first-hand how these new sports facilities can help to regenerate communities and increase participation amongst those who play our national game. By committing £36m over the three years to developing more and better public sports sites, we hope continue that regeneration."

• published: 23 Oct 2013
• views: 41