HOW would you like £1,500 to start a new grassroots football team? If you can increase participation for players and volunteers then the Essex County FA ‘Grow the Game’ Funding Workshop on Monday 25th January is an ideal starting point to find out how to get hold of one or more of the Football Foundation’s grants.

The workshop, in the Pavilion Room at Essex County Cricket Club from 7:00-9:00pm, will provide guidance on how to apply for Grow the Game (GtG) funding and it will be open to all clubs and organisations to attend. The format will be the same as in previous years, including a presentation followed by individual meetings between clubs and their Football Development Officers to focus on key priorities.

Grants can go towards covering the costs of league entry, referees’ fees, first aid kits, FA coaching courses and strips. £1,500 per team is available, with Essex’s priority formats the same as last year’s application window, namely female and disability teams, plus male sides aged 14+. A maximum of four new teams can be included per application – two per year – while there are new window dates for applications from 1st February to 10th March.

Clubs can access grants from a pot provided by the Premier League and The FA, managed by the Football Foundation, the nation’s largest sports charity. GtG is designed to raise participation in football by helping clubs to meet the essential costs of starting new teams. Interested clubs should firstly contact their local Essex County FA Football Development Officer for advice on putting forward a strong application.

Once the window has closed, comments will be compiled by the Essex County FA which will be sent to the Football Foundation, who will review all applications. County FAs are expected to be notified of the successful bids in May, which is when each club will be told of the success of their applications. Payment will only be released to clubs once each County FA has submitted an affiliation number to the Football Foundation for the new team.

A minimum of one team is required per application, and any club who received GtG funding in 2015 is not eligible. The key strength of GtG is that its participation increases are sustainable. Grants create a solid infrastructure of teams and newly-trained coaches in which new people can start playing the sport, rather than simply providing temporary activity sessions, which can be vulnerable to drops in participation once the programme ends.

One recent success story in Essex was exhibited over Christmas when Ben Shephard, ITV’s Good Morning Britain and Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday Presenter, spoke of his delight after Essex Royals YFC in Wickford received a £3,000 boost. The grant will allow Royals to support the development of an Under 18s team.

Martin Kidd, Under 18s Whites Manager and Club Treasurer, said: “The grant from the Football Foundation has allowed the team to offer indoor midweek training which has led to boys coming to Essex Royals who would have otherwise left the game. I have been with Essex Royals for eleven seasons, in which time the club continues to develop and caters for boys and girls from four years old, with 23 teams playing from Under 7s to 18s.”

A Football Foundation Ambassador and a keen footballer himself, Shephard said: “This Grow the Game funding, provided by the Premier League and The FA, is excellent news for Essex Royals. They deserve real credit for working with the Football Foundation and the Essex County FA to help secure the grant. Grow the Game funding makes a tangible difference – it helps to increase participation in the sport.”

To attend the workshop, please E-Mail [email protected] with your club name, the name of your representative and which possible new teams you’re planning. Further details on Grow the Game can be found at www.essexfa.com/more/facilities-and-funding/grow-the-game. Additional funding information is shared on Twitter @EssexCountyFA and by searching for ‘EssexFootball’ on Facebook.