Grassroots football is worth £442m annually to Hampshire in terms of economic and social value, but to many participants our National Game is simply priceless.

To support all of our clubs, we are offering the following support to to help get you match fit, ready for 2020-21!

Affiliation

We are moving the affiliation window back to open on 1 June 2020 and we will be making affiliation FREE for all clubs for season 2020-21. As a County FA we want to ensure that as many of our clubs can re-affilate as possible for when it is safe for football to return. We hope that clubs will be able to continue offering the high-quality football environment that so many players, referees, volunteers and spectators all enjoy.

Insurance 

We are working with our partners Bluefin insurance to provide savings to clubs in terms of personal accident insurance for the new season.  Whilst this has yet to be formally agreed and announced, we are hoping that premiums will be discounted in the region of 15% in recognition of Season 2019/20 being cut short due to COVID-19 and further details in this respect will be released in due course.

Sport England

Sport England are making up to £195 million of funding available to help the sport and physical activity sector through the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. 

The package, which is a combination of National Lottery and government funding, is made up of the following: 

• A £20 million Community Emergency Fund, which will be opened immediately for clubs and community organisations to bid into. Grants between £300 and £10,000 are available
• A £5 million pot for existing partners to bid into if they're facing specific financial difficulty
• An additional £55 million to support our sector during an ongoing period of restrictions, to fund new and innovative ways to keep people active and, when the period of restrictions is over, to help organisations get back to business and adjust to a different environment 
• A £115 million rollover of current funding into 2021/22 to give long term certainty to over 100 well established partners who play a vital role in the delivery of sport and physical activity in England. 

For more information and to see whether your league or club meets the criteria, please click HERE

Football Foundation

The Premier League, The FA, the government and Sport England have come together through their Football Foundation to launch a new ‘Pitch Preparation Fund’ in support of the game, which is currently facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The fund provides almost £10 million of financial support to those struggling to maintain their football pitches across the country.  

This is a direct response to a need across the game, providing grants to clubs that have lost out on normal revenue streams during this difficult period and helping them to prepare their pitches after challenging winter weather conditions.

The move will help to get clubs in a position to start playing football again when it is safe to do so, following government advice, and is estimated that to benefit up to 4,000 grassroots clubs and organisations.

A total of £9.56 million has been allocated to the fund, which is open to football clubs and voluntary organisations that maintain their own natural grass pitches and have at least 12 months’ security of tenure.  Clubs with suitable tenure for a 3G artificial grass pitch are also eligible to apply.

Grassroots football clubs and organisations, FA National League System Clubs from Step 1-6, Welsh Cymru Premier League clubs and clubs in The FA Women’s Pyramid (Tier 1-5) that maintain their own natural grass and third generation (3G) artificial grass pitches, are among those eligible to apply for funding.

The funding will help eligible clubs with essential maintenance works which could include vertical decompaction, slitting, over seeding, fertilising and weedkilling, as well as routine preparatory works such as grass cutting and the setting out and line marking of pitches.  For artificial surfaces, eligible works could include deep cleaning, overmarking and FA pitch testing.

The application window will be open between Thursday 7 May and 9pm on Monday 25 May 2020.

To apply, click HERE 

Partnerships 

Our range of partnerships can save your club money and also generate money! Check out our partners for more information. We are also committed to working with other partners including facilities and local authorities for the benefit of our clubs and leagues. 

Whilst only operating with a reduced team at the moment, we are still on-hand to help you with the challenges you are facing and we hope our full team will be back soon to support you and your team.