Blues to invest in Grassroots Football Development Fund

Everton will help deliver a significant cash injection into grassroots football in the Liverpool City Region over the next three years.

Grassroots football in Liverpool is set to receive £75,000 per year from both Everton and the LFC Foundation as part of the Grassroots Football Development Fund. The Fund will provide equipment, training opportunities and pitch-time for local clubs, leagues and families who have financial limitations.

Everton will form part of a steering group with Liverpool City Council, Liverpool FC Foundation and the County Football Association, which will review applications to offer financial support junior clubs and leagues.

This support will be split into a development fund and infrastructure fund. The latter fund will help provide new equipment, such as footballs, cones and goalposts while the development fund will provide coaches and facilities to help existing clubs expand further and assist recently launched clubs to succeed from the start.

Richard Kenyon, Chief Executive Officer for Everton in Community, said: “The Club is really pleased to be supporting this initiative led by the Mayor of Liverpool. In essence it's about making sure that playing football in the city is fully inclusive – that people aren't missing out because of their financial circumstances. The fund will be available for individuals and teams to apply for and make sure they can access some of the great facilities and coaching we have in this city - it's a really positive announcement that I'm sure will make a big difference to lots of people.”

Liverpool City Council has already been investing in the local game through its Parklife initiative and the creation of four ‘football hubs' across the city.

There are more than 400 junior clubs playing in Liverpool with more than 80,000 people registered with the council's Parklife scheme. The hubs have been open for a year and during that time there have been more than half a million visits by players of all ages.

Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, said: “Football is part of the fabric of life in Liverpool. The city is one of the game's spiritual homes and we are blessed to be the hometown of two of the world's greatest football clubs. We are also fortunate enough to have one of the most dynamic and vibrant football scenes at local level, which is a testament to the hundreds of people who give up their time week after week to make sure the city's grassroots game is thriving. Working together we want to remove any barriers that our children and young people face to getting involved in the game and we want to make sure that football continues to thrive in our city for generations to come.”

The application and funding criteria for Liverpool's Grassroots Football Development Fund will be made available to clubs and leagues later this month.

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