An update on the return of outdoor grassroots football – 24/03/2021

The FA has provided an update on the return of outdoor grassroots football and support available to clubs across the grassroots football community.

On Monday 29 March, as part of the next stage of the Government’s roadmap out of national lockdown, outdoor sports facilities can open, and organised outdoor football can take place.

We have now published our updated guidance, based on the latest Government advice available, which applies to all youth and adult football and futsal, including all formats of the game. If there are any further updates from the Government, we will communicate these in due course. We will also update our guidance as we move through the different steps of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown.
READ THE FA’S UPDATE

The FA’s full return to grassroots football guidance document can be downloaded below:
READ THE FULL GUIDANCE

The FA’s financial support for the gameWith the assistance of Sport England, we are pleased to confirm we will be offering funding to County FAs to provide discounted 2021-22 season affiliation. This will be available across the whole of affiliated football, assisting everyone with getting back to the game they love, and especially those from under-represented areas of the game such as women and girls, lower socio-economic groups, minority groups and those with a disability.

We, alongside Sport England, strongly encourage all of those restarting in the weeks ahead to ensure that everyone is able to benefit, no matter their age or gender, from fair and equal access to playing opportunities.

In addition to this, our ‘Return to Football Fund’, made possible with Sport England funding from the National Lottery, will target £2.1m at supporting people in low participation groups to start playing again. It will also fund initiatives aimed at bringing new players into the game and cover the cost of adapting to COVID-19 rules.

Finally, alongside our partners at The Football Foundation, we also recently announced two other new funds totalling more than £14m to provide further financial support to clubs over the longer term:

Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund – A £14m fund providing six-year tapered grants to improve the quality of grass pitches.

Small Grants – A fund to help clubs pay for essential equipment and machinery they need to start playing again. Clubs can apply for up to £25k to refurbish their changing rooms, pay for grass pitch drainage, new goalposts, pitch maintenance equipment and portable floodlights.

For more information about the funds and how to apply, visit the Football Foundation website

Clubs and leagues can access our online support hub and podcast via the link below, which includes up to date information, guidance and signposts as well as other useful information relating to funding and support services. We are also working with our recently appointed Official Hygiene Partner, Dettol, to support the return of the grassroots game.
ACCESS THE SUPPORT HUB