Over the next two weeks, the Premier League and clubs will be celebrating "More Than A Game", which highlights the positive impact of Premier League investment into communities and all levels of football.
Premier League success means unprecedented financial support is distributed across the leagues and into communities.
The League is investing £1.6billion into wider football, the grassroots game and communities between 2022 and 2025.
This includes funding for community projects run by 164 professional and non-league clubs, supporting people of all ages who need it most, as well as providing much-needed funding to non-league, grassroots and women’s clubs to enhance stadium facilities for players and fans.
"More Than A Game" will be visible at all Premier League matches between 1-16 February. During this time, more than 100 clubs across the Premier League, EFL and National League will celebrate their Community Captain, someone at the heart of the club’s Premier League-funded programmes who deserves recognition for their contribution to the game and society.
Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said: “The sustained success of the Premier League and its popularity around the world enables unprecedented support for the wider game and communities.
“We are really proud of our long-standing investment in all levels of the game, including grassroots, non-league and women’s and girls’ football. We are committed to continuing this support to improve the experience for everybody involved.
“Over the next fortnight, we will be highlighting the incredible impact of the community programmes we fund that are delivered by clubs throughout the football pyramid. This also provides an opportunity to celebrate some of the unsung heroes who are involved in this work and make a huge difference to the lives of those they support week-in, week-out.”
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Premier League Stadium Fund and the Football Foundation. To date, the Premier League has invested more than £207million into improving the grounds of English Football League, National League and Women’s Pyramid clubs via the Premier League Stadium Fund.
The League has also co-funded over £1.2billion of investment along with The Football Association and Government into grassroots facilities through the Football Foundation.
More than 74,000 grants have been distributed, including the construction or improvement of over 13,700 grass pitches and 1,200 3G pitches.
'PL funding crucial to new Cray stadium'
Cray Wanderers are one of more than 1,000 clubs to have received a grant from the Premier League Stadium Fund. The club, who compete in the Isthmian Premier Division, were awarded £150,000 towards the construction of their new stadium at Flamingo Park in south London, complete with a 250-seater covered stand, all-weather astroturf pitch and LED floodlights.
Cray Wanderers CEO Sam Wright said: “Though we are London’s oldest football club, for 164 years we never had a permanent home until this stadium was built. The £150,0000 funding we received from the Premier League was crucial to the project. We are grateful for the support.”
Premier League Trophy Tour
Over the next fortnight, the Premier League Trophy will complete a regional tour of England and Wales. The tour will highlight some of the stories of people who have contributed to or benefitted from Premier League-funded programmes, with Community Captain presentations taking place nationwide.
The first Community Captain to be announced as part of "More Than A Game" this season was Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jaime Quinn, who was celebrated at a Premier League Kicks session at The Manor in East Brighton.
Masters, former Brighton player Glenn Murray, pictured top with Jaime, and Brighton chief operating officer Paul Mullen were on hand to present Jaime with her award.
Over the last decade, Jaime has progressed from participant to coach on social inclusion programme Premier League Kicks, which sees 93 clubs delivering free weekly football sessions and uses the power of sport to inspire young people to reach their potential. She is also part of the BHAFC Foundation education and employability department.
'It feels really nice to be recognised'
Jaime said: "Premier League Kicks offers opportunities for anyone under the age of 19 to play, for free. It is superb. Attending that first Premier League Kicks session was definitely a life-changing moment for me. Not only has it helped shape the person I've become but it's also shaped my whole career up until this point.
“A lot of things have changed about me through Premier League Kicks. From when I was a participant, it massively improved my confidence to get involved with things that are outside of my comfort zone. Then being a coach, it's about improving as a person, my people skills and my impact on the community.
“Being named as a Premier League Community Captain hasn't sunk in. I never expected it in a million years. It's a massive honour and it feels really nice to be recognised."
A nationwide advertising campaign will further highlight how the incredible football on the pitch enables the Premier League to provide wide-ranging funding to all levels of the game and make a significant impact on the lives of millions of people.
