The FA has set in motion a pioneering programme for grassroots football as it endeavours to tackle some of the most pressing environmental challenges within the English game in collaboration with E.ON Next.
Titled 'Greener Game', the FA is empowering grassroots clubs by providing them with access to educational resources, energy-saving guides and investment opportunities to promote decarbonisation and sustainable practices for grassroots football clubs across the country.
The FA's Head of Clubs and Facilities Phil Woodward believes the impacts of the campaign will be felt both on and off the pitch, with the marriage of sustainable environmental practices and grassroots football set to facilitate the continued growth of the beautiful game across the country.
“It’s a great way that we can combine our collective investments,” he said. “We can do more work with clubs but also draw on the expertise that E.ON Next bring and make sure clubs have got really good advice about how to reduce their energy consumption.
“It’s really important to the FA that grassroots football thrives. We’ve got a strategy over the next four years that helps the game do just that and the club networks are at the heart of that strategy.
“We’ve seen those networks grow significantly and everything tells us that trend is going to continue and we want to do our best to support that.
“Facilities are an incredible part of that. Without a pitch, there’s no game so we need to make sure we invest in pitches and have sustainable clubs offer opportunities to the community.
E.ON UK Director of External Affairs Scott Somerville added: “The thing that appealed to all of us at E.ON to get involved with the FA was the fact that football is a community activity. Those of us who love the game love playing the game but with grassroots football clubs, it’s about all the people who come through the doors all the time.
“It’s about showcasing the positive difference sustainable energy solutions can make, not just in business but in people’s lives as well.
“Everything we’re trying to do is to help all our customers and this fits exactly that. What the FA are trying to do with grassroots football is get more people involved with the game, but ultimately, it’s about making communities stronger and helping people of all ages and backgrounds and that’s what we’re trying to do.
“Helping people be more sustainable is about the environment but it's also about skills, opportunities and helping people live happier lives.”
The campaign was launched at Shefford Sports Club, the home of Shefford Town and Campton, where innovative solar panels, batteries and lighting were installed to help drive down the club's energy bills.
In attendance were two of the most iconic names to play for England, including Stuart Pearce and Anita Asante, who welcomed the initiative and the potential impact it can have on promoting sustainability within the grassroots game.
“Firstly, you're going to save money,” said Pearce. “That money can be put into other stuff, facilities, goals, balls, you name it. All of that can be put back into the football club and that might encourage more people to come down.
“I left home this morning and people were telling me energy bills are going up. Bringing solar panels to clubs like this will drive bills down and it's going to make it so much better.
“When I was 16 I left school and I had nowhere to go play football so I got into my local non-league team and that gave me a platform to go into the professional game at the age of 21.
“It's vitally important that initiatives like this are there because without this level of football, you're not going to get the top end of the game either.
“From my local non-league team, I ended up England captain. That's the power of it.”
Asante added: “It’s really important because as we know participation numbers are growing all the time and grassroots clubs are the heartbeat of their communities.
“They want to keep being able to offer opportunities and access to the game and there’s no better way to do that than to look at their energy costs and how to reduce them in order to direct their resources to facilitate a game of football.
“Running costs of clubs, especially grassroots clubs, can be taken for granted. It relies heavily on volunteers and people who are passionate about the game to facilitate it but in this way, grassroots clubs have a hub where they can find information and be supported in reducing their energy costs.”
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