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£17 million boost for
grassroots football in City
LIVERPOOL is to benefit from the
biggest ever investment in grassroots football in the City; designed to
secure the long term future of the game. It follows discussions between
Mayor Joe Anderson and FA Chairman Greg Dyke about a brand new approach to
the sport designed to reverse a decline in participation, drive up the
standard of facilities and reduce reliance on subsidies from the City
Council.
It would initially see the creation of four football 'hubs' across the City funded by Liverpool
City Council, the FA, Sport England and the Premier
League with the latest artificial grass (3G) pitches and new changing
facilities.
A total of £12.6 million of funding will be coming from partner
organisations, with the City Council contributing £4.4 million.
The sites that would be part of the 1st Phase of the programme are:-
► Jeffrey Humble Playing Field (Fazakerley)
► Heron Eccles Playing Field (Allerton)
► Jericho Lane Playing Field (Otterspool)
► Simpson Road (Woolton)
A report to the Council's Cabinet on Friday, 4 March 2016, is recommending
management of the facilities be transferred to a new City wide Football
Trust, which would reinvest its income into further improvements.
Football is the City's major participation sport with over 1,200 teams; of
which more than 60% are junior / youth teams; and it is estimated that
½ a million people participate in the game every year.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said:- "Grassroots football is still
hugely popular in Liverpool and, unlike many other councils, we have kept
the use of pitches free. But the fact of the matter is that we have far less
money than we used to and we can't invest to improve the pitches and
associated facilities. Far too often during the winter, matches have to be
called off because the grass is waterlogged or frozen, causing
disappointment for thousands of people. That is why I am delighted that,
following my discussions with FA Chairman Greg Dyke, we have worked together
to come up with an innovative new approach that will deliver major
investment in great new facilities and get more people involved in the game.
It is a real coup that the FA have chosen Liverpool to pilot it and is a
clear demonstration of their confidence in us to deliver."
A programme of development for both boys and girls would be introduced to
enable them to progress to the professional game, and football matches
through the week would be introduced to make sure that the facilities are
not just being used at weekends. It is expected that Liverpool FC and
Everton FC would also use them.
FA Chief Executive, Martin Glenn, said:- "We are delighted that
planning is at such an advanced stage in Liverpool. I commend the City's
commitment to a project that will lead to a step change in the provision of
grassroots football in England. Over the next 4 years, we have laid
out the ambitious target of football hubs across 30 cities to support the
delivery of FA and County FA youth development and coach education
programmes and to improve the quality of grassroots provision for clubs and
teams."
At least 2 of the sites would offer health and fitness classes to complement
the City's existing physical activity and sports programmes.
David Woods, Chair of the Liverpool Grassroots Steering Group, said:-
"Today's announcement is an extremely exciting one for the future of
grassroots football in Liverpool. The addition of new state of the art 3G
pitches, pavilions and car parking will provide new facilities for everyone,
allowing people to access football all year round across the City. Once
construction has concluded, these four hub sites will provide high quality
facilities for grassroots clubs and leagues, who will be able to play
football in a safe environment. Not only will these facilities be available
for clubs during the week for training; at weekends they will allow for mini
soccer to be played in the morning, with youth and adult football able to be
played in the afternoon."
Dave Pugh, Chief Executive of the Liverpool County FA, said:- "We have
been working hard with the Liverpool Grassroots Steering Group, Liverpool
City Council and The FA to develop this project, which will not only see a
huge investment in the City for grassroots football, but will also provide
opportunities to support grassroots football leagues, both junior and adult,
by providing high quality facilities for them to access for match days, and
clubs for training during the week. The new facilities will also improve the
access and quality of our coach education programmes, improve skill
development of young players, allow more people to access football
opportunities and ultimately change the way we support and deliver football
in the City for the better. There are still some hurdles to overcome but
this announcement is the first step in a journey we are delighted to be part
of for the development of grassroots football in Liverpool. Liverpool County
FA will be leading on some consultation with leagues in the coming weeks
around setting interim plans and future usage."
Positive discussions are ongoing with Merseyside Youth Association (MYA),
who run three of the four sites, to restructure their leases.
Gill Bainbridge, Chief Executive of Merseyside Youth Association, said:-
"Merseyside Youth Association has managed Heron Eccles, Simpson and
Jeffrey Humble Playing Fields for nearly 100 years. This would not have been
possible without excellent support from partners especially Liverpool City
Council, The FA, Football Foundation and Sport England.
I am very excited for what the potential plans could mean for people
involved in grassroots football. Parklife addresses the sustainability of
playing fields in a very well planned and detailed manner. Completing the
plans will be challenging and will involve many more steps for the partners.
MYA will support the development and ongoing consultation in any way
possible."
Consultation will get underway over the next few weeks over the proposals
with planning applications expected to be submitted in the near future. |
