Former England captain Stuart Pearce helped to mark Non-League Day with a perfect hat-trick, visiting three Essex Senior League matches, eight divisions below the Premier League as top-flight action took a pause for the international break.
Pearce's ground-hop took him to the home grounds of Benfleet, Buckhurst Hill and Takeley football clubs, each of which have accessed £100,000 or more from the Premier League Stadium Fund for facilities ranging from spectator stands, dugouts, pitch drainage and irrigation to energy-efficient LED floodlights.
Grants totalling more than £207 million have been supplied to more than 1,000 men's and women's lower league clubs since 2000 and the Premier League Trophy was on display at each of the matches.
Pearce made over 200 Premier League appearances for Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, West Ham United and Manchester City. Before that he played five seasons in the non-league for Wealdstone and turned professional aged 21.
"The Premier League's investment means the facilities at these non-League clubs are unrecognisable compared with the days of old," he said.
"You only have to talk to people on the ground: the staff, the players, the volunteers and you'll hear straight away about these floodlights, or the dugouts, or the new stand that's been built. All of these things add to the local community and bring people through the door as well.
"We're here watching the first team play, but each of these clubs have junior teams for boys and girls. Benfleet have 31 teams across all categories, Buckhurst Hill have 45 and it adds up to thousands of people. The more youngsters we can get playing football, all the better!
"It's been a really successful day - breaking attendance records and showcasing what this level of football is all about. Exciting, full of action and a good standard of play."
Andrew Sylvester is chairman of Takeley FC which has used £110,000 from the Premier League Stadium Fund to convert to LED floodlights and install major under-pitch drainage works.
"When the opportunity came for the Premier League to help us to upgrade to LED floodlights, we took it with both hands," he said. "There are several advantages. They are maintenance free and use much less energy than the old system.
"You can dim the system, so for warm-ups or people coming in or out of the ground, you can set it to 20 per cent power and its more than enough. For us as a club, it will be a massive saving of thousands of pounds per year on electricity which we can use to invest in our youth team.
"Our pitch is on top of heavy clay soil, so it doesn't drain very well. We used funding from the Premier League to install gravel band drainage which has been very effective. Last year we called off six first team games and eight reserve team games and this year we’ve missed three matches."
Buckhurst Hill Chairman Simon Cromwell said: "We are a youth football club wanting to get into senior football. Through the Premier League investment in excess of £100,000, it has enabled us to add the stand, floodlights, perimeter and that enables days like this.
"We've got 45 youth teams, boys and girls, from Under-6 to Under-16s. Over a thousand children are involved in this football club which we’re very proud of.
"The focus for this club is creating a pathway for those youths, to go on to Under-18s, Under-21s and being able to play senior football. Five out of our starting eleven today and three on the bench who’ve came through the ranks at the club."
