Written evidence from the Football Foundation [CCI0040]

Introduction:

The Football Foundation was established in 2000 as a partnership between the Premier League, The FA and Government through Sport England to support grassroots football in England. Our grant investment delivers multi-sport facilities prioritised by community impact, and our mission is to ensure every community has a great place to play, regardless of gender, race, disability or place.

We’re responding to this inquiry to demonstrate the contribution grassroots sport can make to community cohesion, focussing in particular on the fifth question in the call for evidence.

Grassroots sport is an enabler that allows people of all backgrounds to come together and get active while socialising and forming connections within their communities. However, this requires safe, inclusive physical spaces which anyone, irrespective of who they are, feels welcome and able to access. That’s where the Foundation comes in. We invest in delivering grassroots sports facilities, designed through engagement with local communities from the onset, ensuring the spaces we fund reflect the people they serve.

Response:

What can be done at a local and national level to improve community cohesion?

After 24 years’ experience delivering outstanding grassroots facilities, the Foundation has seen the power of grassroots sport to bring people together and strengthen communities.

According to research from The FA, grassroots football enables more than 360m hours of social interaction among children and contributes to the prevention of 13k crimes every year.[1]

There are examples of this in practice across the country. This includes Brookvale Recreation Centre in Runcorn, Cheshire. After receiving a £300k grant from the Foundation in 2021, the site boasts a 3G pitch, which can be used all year round, whatever the weather. The pitch is used to deliver ‘Kops and Kids’ sessions. Each week around 40 children take part in these sessions which include football activity as well as mentoring to help develop positive relationships between the local community and Cheshire Police.

Here's what one of those children, Matthew, had to say about the impact of this facility on his life: “Without Kops and Kids, I don’t know what I’d be doing now. I’ve struggled with my mental health, but I come here to take my mind of everything, and it really helps. Hopefully, it’ll help other people as well.”

Through our Local Football Facility Plans, we’ve got a blueprint for delivering these benefits for community cohesion throughout England. Created in partnership with local authorities, County FAs and other community stakeholders, these Plans have identified the grassroots football facility improvements that each community needs and deserves.

These Plans enable us to target our investment where it’s needed the most, and where it’ll have the greatest impact on community cohesion. Of all the projects we funded last season, half were delivered in the most deprived and inactive areas, and over 90% supported seldom heard groups who face the greatest barriers to getting active – this includes women and girls, disabled people and those long-term health conditions, lower socio-economic groups and ethnically diverse communities.[2]

We’re currently in the process of refreshing these Plans to reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, to support the growth in all areas and formats of the game, and to ensure our investment supports sport beyond football alone. By June, we’ll have published a new Plan for every local authority in England, which will give us an up-to-date picture of the projects required to provide every community with a great place to play.

In order to have a tangible impact on community cohesion, seldom heard groups need be involved in the design of their local facilities from the onset. That’s why the Foundation requires every potential applicant to gather the views of their local residents in order to be eligible for funding. We’ve created a Community Engagement Toolkit, which we share with all our applicants, to guide them through this process.

There are two Foundation programmes in particular which highlight the ability of community engagement to support community cohesion among seldom heard groups:

Football Foundation PlayZones:

PlayZones are small-sided multi-sport facilities which provide safe, inclusive and accessible spaces for the communities that face the greatest inequalities to come together through physical activity. Where each PlayZone is located, what sports it’s used for and how it’s designed is shaped by local people who step onto the pitch and get active in a way that suits them – whether that be with a ball, a hoop, or a wicket.

The PlayZone at Concord Youth Centre in Birmingham, which opened in September 2024, is a great example of the impact these facilities can have by providing places to play that local communities can have a sense of ownership over.

Delivered thanks to £169k grant from the Foundation and additional £60k from EA SPORTS™, this PlayZone was designed based on the views of over 900 local residents representing a cross-section of the local area. Based on this engagement, the pitch was designed to host both football and basketball as well as a range of recreational activities like dance and Zumba classes. Within five years of opening, the pitch is expected to be used by over 700 people every month across these activities.

Active Through Football:

Funded by the National Lottery through Sport England, and delivered by the Foundation, the Active Through Football programme is helping to engage those facing the greatest barriers to grassroots sport by providing opportunities for people from different communities to come together and learn about one another.

This has included Active Women in Leicester, which is a project specifically aimed at women aged 18 to 62, predominately from Somali and South Asian communities in the St Matthews and St Peters wards of Leicester. The project started out as a group of women playing Rounders in Spinney Hill Park and now delivers 12 sessions a week covering football, coffee and exercise classes and music sessions.

Here’s what one of the participants, Mez, has to say about the project: "I was born and brought up in India and was really sporty as a child. Since I came here 25 years ago, there wasn't much opportunity for me to go out or get involved in any activities. I was at home most of the time and never wanted to get out of bed.

“Since I started coming to these sessions, I feel really happy and my confidence has boosted a lot. They’ve helped me with my depression and these women have become my family. Now in my mind, I feel like I can do anything".

Conclusion:

In summary, grassroots sport can play a vital role in improving community cohesion at both a local and national level. However, none of this potential can be realised without a great place to play.

As outlined above, the Foundation has nearly a quarter of a century’s worth of experience in delivering quality, welcoming and accessible sports facilities across England. By the start of next season, we’ll have an accurate and up-to-date blueprint of the facility improvements that each community needs and deserves across the country.

We ask that the Committee recognises the important role grassroots sport plays in improving community cohesion and advocates for sustained investment into community sports facilities to support healthier lives and stronger communities with a great place to play.

January 2025