The unique power of football

Earlier this year Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Football has a unique power to connect with young people in such a positive way. It can help change lives for the better. The health benefits of the sport are obvious but it also reaches deep into communities, helping to deliver strong social cohesion as well as boosting people’s self-esteem.”

Contrary to the fears of some parents, research undertaken suggests that devoting substantially increased school time to physical education and sport does not have a detrimental effect on pupils’ academic performance – while also conferring physical and mental health benefits.

The latest Health Survey for England (HSE) data shows that in 2009 28.3 per cent of children (aged 2-10) in England were overweight or obese. Children who are active have a dramatically reduced risk of contracting many diseases including heart disease and osteoporosis. Regular exercise is also known to reduce the risk of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. A recent study by the International Journal of Obesity further demonstrated a link between obesity and poor academic performance.

Life skills
Sport has the ability to teach valuable life skills such as building character, teaching strategic thinking, analytical thinking, leadership skills, goal setting and risk taking. A survey commissioned by the Football Foundation following last summers riots also found that 60 per cent of people surveyed believed that improving sporting facilities for young people would reduce anti-social behaviour.

It is therefore all the more vital that a school should have high quality sporting facilities and high quality delivery of sporting activity for their pupils. The Football Foundation – which receives funding from The FA, the Premier League and the Government (via Sport England) – has supported 447 projects at educational establishments since forming in 2000, worth a total of £200m.

The introduction of a new sporting facility can offer more to a school than first meets the eye. Take a floodlit third generation artificial grass (3G) pitch as an example – one of the Foundations most commonly funded builds.

Out of the 217 educational projects who returned Monitoring and Evaluation forms in 2010-2011, over 234,000 played on the sites with an average hours of usage at 73.2 per week.

Floodlit Pitches
With a floodlit 3G pitch you can get more than 80 hours a week usage compared to the five or six hours a week you get from a grass pitch. This also offers the chance for the pitch to be opened up to the local community, which can be an additional revenue stream for the school.

Such a facility will increase usage opportunities during periods of poor weather with its all weather surface, allowing physical education sessions and extra curriculum activities to take place throughout the year. The floodlights also provide the opportunity for after-school sport during winter months after the light has diminished.

Recently, former Newcastle United and England forward Peter Beardsley cut the ribbon on a new 3G pitch at Walker Technology College in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Grant
The College – which boasts Cheryl Cole as a former pupil - worked in partnership with the Northumberland FA to secure a £102,000 grant from the Football Foundation towards the new football facility.

After taking part in a seven-a-side tournament at the opening ceremony, Beardsley said: “It is excellent to see this new football facility become available to people studying at Walker Technology College and also those outside the college.

“The flood-lit and all-weather elements of the pitch are particularly important because, no matter what the weather is like, it gives the students somewhere to go after classes finish and do something positive.

The school’s new 3G pitch will benefit both the students and wider community, with forecasts suggesting it will be used by over 1,750 people on a weekly basis.

The core business of the Football Foundation is sorting out the bricks and mortar of community sports facilities in this country. The Foundation predominantly funds 3G pitches, changing accommodation, Multi-Use Games Areas and pitch drainage. They cannot fund projects that have already been started so bear that in mind.

The decision on how much funding to allocate a project is very much based on value for money. The maximum grant that can be awarded is £500,000 however to get a grant of this size your application will have to demonstrate that it will deliver a massive benefit to an area that really needs it.

For facility grant requests under £50,000 – for example changing room refurbishment – the Foundation offers a quicker, simpler application process as part of our Build the Game (BtG) initiative.

For more information
Schools can apply online or find out more details on all Football Foundation funding schemes at www.footballfoundation.org.uk. You can also contact your County FA for pre-application advice – contact details can be found on www.thefa.com