On Friday the Government, The FA and the Premier League committed to joining forces to build more 3G pitches in 150 sport hubs across 30 cities over the next five years.
Last December the Government announced that it would invest an additional £50 million into football’s grassroots over the next five years - with £8 million a year going into facilities and £2 million going into coaching.
More 3G grassroots pitches will be built
The FA agreed to match-fund this investment with £50 million going into facilities over the next five years.
The Premier League has committed to invest in facilities as a funding priority through to at least 2019.
FA Chairman Greg Dyke said, “We have identified grassroots facilities as a major priority for The FA, along with coaching and coach education.
“The FA, Premier League and Government already give £12 million a year to the Football Foundation for improving facilities across the country.
“It is great that our idea for hubs up and down England is being backed by both government and the Premier League, and that we are also being supported by government through our coach education strategy with a £2 million grant, which we are matching.
“That will enable us to specifically target more female, BAME and financially disadvantaged coaches from across England.”
The announcement was made last Friday by FA Chairman Greg Dyke, sports minister Helen Grant and Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore during a visit to the Evelyn Grace Academy - a school in South London that has a 3G facility.
The government, Premier League and FA’s investment is in addition to the £102 million funding going into the Premier League and FA Facilities fund over three years from 2014, that is administered by the Football Foundation and upgrades and builds facilities across the country.
The move follows FA chairman Greg Dyke’s second part of his ‘England Commission’ report last October that proposed an overhaul of grassroots facilities in England. It proposed building more 3G artificial pitches to create a new sustainable approach so that the sport is less reliant on local authority subsidies
