Premier League partner the Football Foundation is celebrating 21 years of delivering facilities that have opened up the power of football pitches, helping to transform lives and communities throughout England.
Since its creation by the Premier League, The Football Association and the Government Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Foundation and its partners have unlocked £1.8billion of investment to improve local football facilities across England.
It has delivered over 20,400 grants to improve facilities, including 958 3G pitches, 8,726 natural grass pitches and 1,223 changing facilities - all of which are accessible and welcoming to everyone.
Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said: “The Premier League is proud to have funded thousands of grassroots facilities through the Football Foundation and its sister organisation, the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, over the last 21 years.
“This is an exciting time for football, with a positive UEFA Euro 2020 campaign for England inspiring more people to play sport. It is important that people of all ages in communities up and down the country continue to have access to high-quality pitches and facilities.
"We look forward to working alongside our fellow partners to deliver many more projects in the years to come.”
21 years of being 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 for football.
— Football Foundation (@FootballFoundtn) July 25, 2021
Representatives from across the partnership joined forces to announce the launch of the Football Foundation 21 years ago today 🙌#21YearsOfFF
In celebrating this milestone and its achievements to date, the Football Foundation is now looking to the future and working to ensure communities up and down the country have better access to great places to play and the facilities they deserve.
Following the recent announcement from the Government that a further £50million will be invested into community sports facilities - the second tranche of the £550m already committed by Government last year which builds upon £25m announced by the Chancellor at the Budget earlier this year - the Foundation is working to fund a range of new projects identified within the Local Football Facility Plans it has created for every community across England, targeting investment where it is needed most.
Unlocking the power of football
These plans are the culmination of two years of work with local authorities, County Football Associations and other stakeholders to identify projects that together represent a blueprint for building what each community needs and deserves.
Players like Harry Kane, Kalvin Phillips and Harry Maguire played on facilities the Foundation funded as they grew up, proving what a difference good grassroots facilities can make.
By ensuring this funding committed by the Government flows through to the grassroots game, combined with the success of the England men's football team and upcoming Women’s UEFA Euro 2022, the Football Foundation and its partners believe they have a landmark opportunity to truly capitalise on the passion for the national game and unlock the power of football for those who need it most.