The Football Foundation is the Premier League, The FA and Government’s charity.
Since 2000, our mission has been to give every community a great place to play.
From grants for 3G pitches and changing facilities, to grass pitch improvements and goalposts, we get funding to the people and places that need it the most.
Alongside this support of the grassroots game, we work with the Premier League to deliver the Premier League Stadium Fund. This plays a vital role in improving the men’s and women’s pyramid experience for players and fans alike, helping clubs to become more sustainable with more welcoming and accessible environments.
Together, we’re ensuring investment reaches every level of the game, and building the facilities that every player, volunteer, supporter and local community can call home.
Harry Kane, England Men’s Captain
“This PlayZone is a really good pitch and it’s a privilege to have it in Derby. It’s great for playing different sports.”
“Young boys and girls need to have the right environment, need to have the right pitches and need to be able to play all-year round. It’s great work that you guys [Football Foundation] do. We want young generations to play more and more football and other sports as well, and this is all part of that parcel.”
“Without the Football Foundation’s funding, we don’t know where these kids would be and what they’d be up to. It’s nice to know that they’re safe and that their parents know where they are too.”
Millie Bright, Chelsea FC Women and Football Foundation Supporter
“I feel so proud to represent a charity that is doing so much to enable more and more women and girls throughout the nation to get down to their local pitches to play football.
I want every community to have access to fantastic facilities that support people from whatever background they have.”
Daud, student at Dale Primary School in Normanton
David Todd, coach at Brookvale Recreation Centre in Runcorn
WHAT WE’VE DELIVERED TO DATE
Thanks to the ongoing support of the Premier League, The FA and Government, since 2000, the Football Foundation has invested nearly £1.3 billion towards delivering the grassroots sports facilities that communities up and down the country need and deserve. These include:
1,300 Grass pitches
3G pitches
15,000 Changing rooms
1,700
This has attracted an additional £1.5 billion of partnership funding — totalling over £2.8 billion investment in grassroots football so far. Since 2000, the Premier League Stadium Fund has distributed £214m to over 1,000 clubs.
Ella Toone, Lioness and Manchester United Women FC
“I’m so grateful to the Football Foundation for the opportunity to inspire local girls to fall in love with the game just like I did.”
Sophie, Boldon Girls FC player
“It’s great to play on pitches like this because we usually play on muddy pitches where the ball bobbles about, but this pitch lets you play the football that you really want to.”
Lisa-Marie Powell, Long Lane FC CEO
“The funding that we’ve received from the Football Foundation has been part of the foundations that helped us get Long Lane to where we are today so that we’re able to create a fun and safe space for all to enjoy football no matter age, race, ability, sex or heritage. Along with being able to support our local community.”
Maemi, Sandbach United FC player
“The facilities here show everyone that, no matter what anyone says, there’s always a place for you to play.”
High-quality football and sports facilities are vital. They support health, wellbeing, pride and belonging. A great place to play transforms lives, strengthens communities and creates opportunity for all.
The Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation is a unique charity partnership, bringing together public and private investment to harness the power of football to engage communities and provide grant giving expertise.
Through our investment, we deliver facilities that inspire people to play, get healthy and come together. Our mission is simple: to give every community a great place to play.
English football is evolving, and the Foundation must evolve with it. Guided by our Local Football Facilities Plans (LFFP), we systematically deliver where need is greatest and impact is strongest, creating inclusive opportunities for generations to come. We don’t invest and walk away; we support every facility at every stage.
We’ll support the growth of the Women’s and Girls’ game, provide the facilities that grassroots organisations need, back our biggest and best clubs and ensure we know about every pitch and how best to support them.
After 25 years of progress, thousands already play on facilities we’ve funded, but there’s more to do.
As the game evolves, our gamechanging plan will deliver the facilities it needs, giving every community a great place to play, inspiring healthier lives and strengthening communities every day.
That’s why we exist. That’s what we do.
Giving every community a great place to play
Why HEALTHIER LIVES AND STRONGER COMMUNITIES
How EVERY COMMUNITY HAS A GREAT PLACE TO PLAY
1
Lead with 3G
— Focus on building new and improving 3G pitches
2
Prioritise place
Deliver 3G projects identified by our Local Football Facility Plans in areas of high priority, defined by Sport England’s Place Partnership Areas
Identify/transition to the optimal environmentally sustainable pitch solution
Support women and girls
3 4 5
Meet the needs of the growing Women’s and Girls’ game
Back our clubs
Know our pitches —
Sustainable facilities that support community clubs
Know all our pitches and support them to achieve the intended impact
Post‑award support including pitch replacement
Assess, measure, report and learn from the social impact of our investment
Pitch data aligned with affiliated play data
Sustainable Grass Pitch Programme to provide quality pitches to the affiliated game
Optimise tech process and solutions to lead change and improve performance
Deliver Local Football Facility Plans projects, including multi‑sport and underrepresented focus
Work with the Premier League to deliver the Premier League Stadium Fund
OUR 5-YEAR GAMECHANGERS
Why?
Flexible in use and durable in all conditions, 3G pitches are the engine of mass football and multi-sport participation; and the optimal surface for people starting their playing journey.
3G pitches are specifically designed to meet the needs of different sports, including football and rugby, by closely replicating the playing characteristics of natural turf.
With almost no match cancellations due to weather, they’re long-term, financially sustainable and become lively hubs in their communities.
If well maintained, they limit the need for future capital investment, and deliver strong sporting outcomes and social impact. All whilst reducing the stress on grass pitches and their maintenance.
Ensuring facilities are environmentally sustainable is critical. We’re actively researching infill systems to find the most environmentally sustainable solution, and recycling options for 3G pitch surfaces that have reached the end of their life.
554 new and replacement 3G pitches
What?
By the end of 2030 we’ll have:
Delivered 554 new and replacement 3G pitches
Delivered 250 Football Foundation
PlayZones
40% of new 3Gs, PlayZones and Clubhouses offering enhanced multi‑sport
100% of new 3Gs using optimal environmentally sustainable systems
Through the Premier League Stadium Fund we’ll ensure:
Supported installation of stadium 3G pitches for men’s and women’s football pyramid clubs, with and without financial contribution from the Football Foundation
Why?
Sport England’s Place Partnership Areas are some of the most under-served communities in the country, and our focus should be in the places where the need is greatest.
We believe that a great place to play transforms the lives of individuals and builds stronger communities. 3G pitches provide the most flexible and durable sporting outcomes and therefore have the greatest social impact, increase opportunities to play and help tackle inequalities.
To ensure these 3G pitches support local priority outcomes, applicants undertake community engagement to identify how a proposed facility will address inequality in access for underrepresented groups: including ethnically and culturally diverse communities; women and girls; people with disabilities and/or long-term health conditions; and people from lower social economic backgrounds.
At least 40% of the facilities we fund will have a multi-sport offer so that more people can participate in sports in addition to football, meaning more people can get access to a wider variety of sports and activities including rugby, cricket and basketball.
Deliver 3G projects identified by Local Football Facility Plans in Place Partnership Areas
What?
By the end of 2030 we’ll have:
Delivered 240 new 3G pitches in Place Partnership Areas www.sportengland.org/ funding‑and‑ campaigns/ place ‑partnerships
55% of projects will offer regular usage for at least two underrepresented groups, in addition to women and girls
Why?
The growth and demand in women’s and girls’ football is exceptional. The challenge of access to quality, safe and welcoming facilities, both in number and the culture of pitch allocation remains.
It is vital that both existing players, and the new generation of women and girls coming into the game have quality, inclusive and accessible places to play.
We must build quickly to meet the overall growth of the game, with a particular focus on providing women’s and girls’ access at the times they want to play and a clear, long-term target of reaching equal access as demand grows.
Growing the Women’s and Girls’ game
What?
By the end of 2030 we’ll ensure:
All 3Gs and PlayZones will deliver women’s and girls’ priority access, at times people want to play. We’ll work with partners with the aim of doubling the share of primetime slots dedicated to women’s and girls’ teams
At least 27% of priority time slots on 3Gs will be for women’s and girls’ football and multi sport
Through the Premier League Stadium Fund we’ll ensure:
Stadiums are more inclusive environments for female players
Why?
Ensuring every community has a great, financially and environmentally sustainable place to play is critical.
With their established connections and position within the heart of local communities, we believe the best people to own, maintain and improve facilities are the clubs who use them every day.
In turn, these facilities will provide clubs with the opportunity to deliver on their aspirations, whilst underpinning long-term financial sustainability and impact on the game and wider objectives.
Sustainable facilities that support community clubs
What?
By the end of 2030 we’ll have:
Delivered 120 3Gs to Three Star Clubs and Club Community Organisations
14 new Hub sites
14,000 quality grass pitches in PitchPower
Transferred 147 sites into club ownership through Home Advantage Programme
Through the Premier League Stadium Fund we’ll ensure:
Invested in National League System and Women’s Football Pyramid clubs to support their ability to be more financially sustainable
Provided investment into England Accredited Three Star Clubs
Why?
Historically, we’ve struggled to access and maintain accurate data on the pitch landscape across England. We have detail on some sites, but not an organised directory of every single pitch in the country, each with an identifiable unique ID, and measures of their quality and usage.
This capability, along with a newly enhanced post-award support service for all of our applicants, means for the first time we’ll really know all about our pitches. We’ll be able to give those responsible for them the support needed, and crucially, measure the impact they are making.
Know all our pitches and support them to achieve the intended impact
What?
By the end of 2030 we’ll have:
A full directory of every pitch in the country, including 3G and grass pitches, and PlayZones
Quality and usage data of all pitches that are Football Foundation funded
3
Lead with 3G Prioritise Place Support women and girls
— Focus on building new and improving 3G pitches
— Deliver 3G projects identified by our Local Football Facility
Plans in areas of high priority, defined by Sport England’s
Place Partnership Areas
By the end of 2030 we’ll have:
Delivered 554 new and replacement 3G pitches
Delivered 250 Football Foundation PlayZones
40% of new 3Gs, PlayZones and Clubhouses offering enhanced multi‑sport
100% of new 3Gs using optimal environmentally sustainable systems
Supported installation of stadium 3G pitches for men’s and women’s football pyramid clubs, with and without financial contribution from the Football Foundation
By the end of 2030 we’ll have:
Delivered 240 new 3G pitches in Place Partnership Areas www.sportengland.org/ funding‑and‑ campaigns/ place partnerships
55% of projects will offer regular usage for at least two underrepresented groups, in addition to women and girls
Meet the needs of the growing Women’s and Girls’ game
Know our pitches Back our clubs
Know all our pitches and support them to achieve the intended impact Sustainable facilities that support community clubs
By the end of 2030 we’ll ensure:
All 3Gs and PlayZones will deliver women’s and girls’ priority access, at times people want to play. We’ll work with partners with the aim of doubling the share of primetime slots dedicated to women’s and girls’ teams
At least 27% of priority time slots on 3Gs will be for women’s and girls’ football and multi sport
Stadiums are more inclusive environments for female players
By the end of 2030 we’ll have:
Delivered 120 3Gs to Three Star Clubs and Club Community Organisations
14 new Hub sites
By the end of 2030 we’ll have:
A full directory of every pitch in the country, including 3G and grass pitches, and PlayZones
Quality and usage data of all pitches that are Football Foundation funded
14,000 quality grass pitches in PitchPower
Transferred 147 sites into club ownership through Home Advantage Programme
Invested in National League System and Women’s Football
Pyramid clubs to support their ability to be more financially sustainable
Provided investment into England Accredited Three Star Clubs
Delivering this strategy requires £600m investment.*
Over the lifetime of these facilities, £1.8bn in SROI will be generated.**
THE POWER OF EVERY POUND
These amazing facilities will deliver more than just opportunities to play sport, they give communities the opportunity to come together, play sport, boost their health and wellbeing, support local economies and change lives across England for the better. That’s not just Return on Investment (ROI), it’s Social Return on Investment (SROI).
*Projections based on current costs, inflation and projected growth of football participation
**SROI includes 3Gs and grass pitch projects, but excludes PlayZones and clubhouses
**Draft figures only. Calculated using Sport England’s model and Football Foundation’s methodology, which remains subject to finalisation
**Based on average facility lifespans
YEARS
3Gs
Hubs
Home Advantage Programme
Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund
PlayZones
Clubhouses
Resurfacing 3Gs
(9%)
£35m (6%)
£10m (2%)
THE SOCIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT
This SROI was calculated using 4Global/Sport England’s model and the Football Foundation’s methodology. It takes four measures into consideration: in the original study, Subjective Wellbeing contributed the greatest amount to SROI (54%). This is assumed to be consistent in the future predictions.
Subjective Wellbeing
― Improved life satisfaction
Physical & Mental Health
Reduced risk of various health conditions
Individual Development
― Improved educational attainment
― Enhanced human capital (average graduate salary)
Social & Community Development
― Reduced crime incidences
― Improved social networks, trust and reciprocity (social capital)
*SROI includes 3Gs and grass pitch projects, but excludes PlayZones and clubhouses
