FOCUS ON SMALL FACILITIES GRANTS

FOCUS ON SMALL FACILITY GRANTS

As well as funding towards 3G pitches, natural grass pitches and changing pavilions, the Foundation also provides a number of other smaller grants to help towards smaller scale improvements to the infrastructure of clubs. Some of the other grants on offer to clubs up and down the county include the replacement of unsafe goalposts, new grounds maintenance equipment and new storage containers. While the grants on offer may be smaller in monetary value, their overall impact on clubs can be just as valuable.

PITCH MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT PUTS GATESHEAD REDHEUGH BACK ON TRACK-TOR

For Gateshead Redheugh FC, the 2017/18 season was a story of uncertainty, frustration and unfulfilled fixtures, with troublesome weather playing havoc with their Eslington Park home ground.

Thanks to a grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, the club were allocated funds to purchase a top-of-the-range tractor to help maintain the quality of the surface. The tractor comes with multiple attachments, including a shockwave decompactor, combination frame tool and roller mower to provide groundsmen with all they need to manage the pitch.

Terry Ritson, Manager of Gateshead Redheugh, said: “The feedback we’ve had from our groundsman and volunteers has been unequivocally positive and our players have also seen a real difference since we received this grant. Previously, the pitch never really had a chance to breathe properly and the surface was deteriorating as soon as we started training on it every August. We’ve only had it for a few months now but we’re already seeing a massive improvement.”

The club, which boasts Paul Gascoigne, Andy Carroll and Don Hutchison as some of its most notable alumni, endured a season plagued by postponements, with harsh weather rendering the club’s efforts to maintain their fixtures throughout the season futile. Now, Ritson is confident that these problems will be a thing of the past.

“This equipment is going to massively benefit our club. Over the past couple of years, the fact we haven’t been able to fulfil our fixtures has put players off and it’s been a struggle retaining some of the squad,” he added. “Now we’re anticipating significantly fewer postponements, an influx of new, hungry players and a large financial saving on keeping our pitch in order.”

NO MORE MOVING THE GOALPOSTS AT LAKENHEATH YFC

Lakenheath YFC’s previous goalposts had become a weekly source of frustration for club officials. The collapsible frames were weak, aged and required three people to successfully erect.

The £441 they received through the small grants scheme allowed them to purchase state-of-the-art, portable seven-a-side goals, significantly enhancing the quality of goal frames and putting an end to time-consuming struggles to put them together.

Lakenheath Club Chairman, Richard Horrex, said: “It’s really difficult to put into terms how many issues we had with the previous goalposts. They took at least three people to put up and a huge amount of time was wasted before training sessions and matches.

“THE IMPROVED EQUIPMENT HAS HAD KNOCK-ON BENEFITS TO OUR PLAYER RECRUITMENT, AND WE’VE ACTUALLY BEEN ABLE TO CREATE AN ENTIRE NEW TEAM AT UNDER-7’S LEVEL.”

“Now, we have vastly improved goals which only take one man to manoeuvre and are significantly safer for our players to use. Moreover, the fact that we have improved equipment has had knock-on benefits to our player recruitment, and we’ve actually been able to create an entire new team at Under-7s level thanks to our enhanced reputation within the local community.”