Funding the Foundations of Sport

Launched in 2000 the Football Foundation has grown into the nation’s largest sports charity. Money provided by the Premier League, The FA and government (via Sport England) has allowed the Foundation to fund 8,000 community sports projects up and down the country with grants worth more than £420m towards improving grassroots sport, money which it has used to attract additional partnership funding of over £520m.

 

The scale of just some of the Football Foundation’s achievements are best captured as follows:

• 58 Canary Wharfs – The equivalent height if all Football Foundation funded goal posts were stacked on top of each other.
• 9 Hyde Parks – The area equivalent to all Football Foundation funded pitches.
• 3 Millennium Domes – The area equivalent to all Football Foundation funded pavilions.
• 3 Wembley Stadium sell-outs – The equivalent number of recipients of Football Foundation free kits.

Our commitment to rebuilding this country’s dilapidated sports facilities lends significant support to the Government’s aim of delivering a mass participation community sports legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games. With increased participation a key 2012 objective our evidence proves that participation increases on the sites that we fund by an average of 50% as soon as they open, and then a further 25% over the following four years. Furthermore, in the last year alone multi-sport participation on Foundation funded facilities increased, on average across all sites, by 10.4%.

It is essential that any project will increase the number of people who can play sports, as opening up access through better community facilities is a key Football Foundation objective. We also know that it is important that our investment is going to the areas with the greatest need, which is why last year 61% of our investment was directed into the 20% most deprived wards across the country.

Recently, The FA’s new Chairman, David Bernstein officially opened a new third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch at the ARK Academy, Wembley. ARK opened in September 2010 admitting 180 year 7 pupils with half of the places given to children from the Stonebridge and Harlesden areas and half from Wembley. These are categorised as some of the most deprived parts of the country. The academy, which has specialist status in mathematics and citizenship, is mixed, non-denominational and when fully open will take pupils from age 3 to 18.

The 3G pitch, which was made possible thanks to a Football Foundation grant of £229,136, sits less than a mile from Wembley Stadium and will assist with the delivery of ARK Academy’s commitment to provide an extensive range of curriculum sports, help cater for after school programmes and facilitate a comprehensive community use timetable.

Matthew Gajdus, the Football Foundation Facilities Programme Manager who oversaw the ARK Academy project, highlighted how ARK’s commitment to raising community participation helped them win Foundation support, “From an early stage of their application ARK Academy made it clear that the proposed new facilities would be available to all members of the community; they were keen to engage with clubs and teams and offer their students opportunities to develop their football experience.”

The facility will eventually be used by 1,600 school users within curriculum time, principally for football but also other PE activities. Eventually it will host inter and intra school tournaments and become a host venue for feeder primary schools to deliver small sided football training and matches.

The new pitch means that the school will be able to introduce eight new school teams by 2012 and deliver a number of school coaching courses. In addition, the new pitch will provide AFC Wembley with a suitable training facility outside school hours and will help the club increase the number of teams it currently provides for. Moreover, the site will become home to a number of other local football teams with the majority having been consulted throughout the application process and already factored into the programme of use.

Furthermore the new facilities will support a number of local community groups; including VH Whizz kids and REAP (Refugees in Effective and Active Partnership), who will use football activity on site to engage with local groups and deliver educational support.

Stuart Allen, County Development Manger at the Middlesex County FA, explains that planning for the new facilities goes far beyond obtaining a grant and building the facility, “The grant process involved developing a five-year Football Development Plan (FDP) which identified how ARK Academy would support growth and retention, raise standards, produce better players and develop the workforce. The FDP also details which groups in the community are going to benefit from the facility and why there is a strategic need.”

The Foundation is not satisfied with simply building a facility and then walking away. It works extremely hard to ensure that each facility is located in areas with the greatest potential for community use. It checks every completed facility, every year, to ensure it is delivering the planned outcomes – and ideally exceeding them.

Frequently Asked Questions

By addressing some of applicants’ most frequently asked questions, the Football Foundation has put together some pre and post-funding advice:

Pre application

Who should I initially talk to regarding my project?

You can complete a short Expression of Interest form that can be found on our website. Completed forms are forwarded to appropriate FA and County FA representatives, one of whom will contact you to discuss your project, and help you complete a full application form. The Foundation works with The FA to offer advice on a range of issues including pre-application, football development and technical advice. Please contact your County FA Development Manager to discuss your project. Click here for contact details.

Can I apply online?

Yes. Please see our website for the online forms and assistance in completing them.

How long will an application take?

We expect a Facilities Large grant application for over £50,000 (maximum £500,000) to take up to 19 weeks to process. The process is not designed to be bureaucratic but to ensure that the best and most appropriate advice can be given. For example, the period of pre application consultation with the relevant county FA is there to improve the overall quality of projects.

A ‘Continuous Improvement Cycle’ is at the heart of how the Football Foundation ensures efficient assessment of applications. Since 2005/06 the average time taken to offer a grant has more than halved. This is of huge benefit to applicants who need to secure additional funding from other sources and obtain realistic construction costs.

What facilities will you fund under the Facilities scheme?

Foundation Facilities funding is primarily available to support organisations that wish to develop and/or refurbish facilities to sustain and/or increase participation in football. Types of facilities we fund include: grass pitches, changing rooms, pavilions, clubhouses, artificial grass pitches (AGPs), multi-use games areas (MUGAs).

Does my organisation need to have a lease or freehold on the land we want to develop?

All applicants must have security of tenure by means of “the freehold” or by means of an uninterrupted lease. (Security of tenure is a guarantee that you own or will be able to use a site. This can be acquired via alicense, lease or freehold.)

Our minimum security of tenure requirements are:

• For grants up to £20,000: 10 years
• For grants up to £250,000: 20 years
• For grants over £250,000: 25 years

How much do you expect the applicant to put towards the project?

The grant level for projects is decided on the merits of the case.

Even in these cases, the applicant must demonstrate that they have made significant efforts to secure alternative funding sources and that no further funding is available for the project. The financial need of the applicant will be the key factor in determining a suitable grant amount.

After the grant has been awarded

How long have we got to start work and make our first claim for money?

Six months from the date of your Offer Letter from us. If you think that you won’t be able to do this in time, you will need to contact your Foundation Project Manager as soon as possible. The full ‘Terms and Conditions of Grant Aid’ document, which will accompany the formal grant Offer Letter, will have the full details.

How do I make a claim?

Before you can make a claim, you must have fulfilled all pre-claim conditions detailed in your formal Offer Letter. To make a claim, you will need to download a claim form from our website, fill in the form and send it with your supporting paperwork. We will pay claims at the percentage detailed in your formal grant Offer Letter. For example, if your grant is 50% of costs and you submit a claim for £4,000 we will pay you £2,000. We will treat every claim in this way until we have paid 95% of your total grant.

What if we’ve started work but the project is running behind schedule – who should we tell?

If your project is running behind schedule, you will need to let your Foundation Project Manager know when you think the work will finish, so that a completion inspection can be re-scheduled.

What if we’re having problems with our contractor – can anyone help?

The Foundation is unable to intervene in any dispute you may have with your contractor, as we are not legally a party in the contract. However, our qualified staff can offer support, and advise on potential action that you could take. You would be able to speak to one of our highly qualified Technical Advisors for further advice.

The Football Foundation’s AGP Framework

In conjunction with the FA and the Rugby Union (RFU) the Foundation recently launched a framework for the procurement of artificial pitches. This was tendered under European procurement legislation and took the innovative approach of dealing directly with companies who manufacture artificial turf carpet instead of the more traditional route of tendering projects with the installation contractors.

This was driven by a desire for single point responsibility, whereby the same company not only designs, manufactures and supplies the carpet, but arranges its installation and then oversees the pitch maintenance throughout its life. This ‘end-to-end’ control facilitates the issuing of meaningful warranties covering the performance and life expectancy of the pitches. The aim is to drive up the quality that we receive from our investment.

The Companies on the framework are:

Fieldturf Tarkett
Greenfields
SIS (Support in Sport)
Tigerturf
Limonta Smith

Visit the Football Foundation’s website for an even more detailed examination of the range of topics inherent to a school or education establishment thinking of applying for funding or seeking advice after a grant has been awarded.

For more information please call 0845 345 4555 or visit www.footballfoundation.org.uk