Words from the Chief Executive of the Foundation, Paul Thorogood
When Kevin Costner built his ‘Field of Dreams’, it prompted legendary baseball players to return to life to play the sport. Now Football Foundation investment is building facilities that enable more people across the country to play sport than ever before.
A new survey shows that participation in our national game at Foundation-upgraded sites has increased on average by 21%. Participation across all sports has increased by 13.6%. So the Foundation is making a huge difference to helping deliver the Government’s target of a 1% increase in sports participation.
With improvements in facilities worth £375m delivered in just seven years, the Foundation is also a fundamental component of the estimated £2bn worth of work that is needed to bring the UK’s local sports infrastructure in line with our European neighbours.
The Premier League, The FA and the Government’s continued investment into the Foundation is ensuring that our community sports sites are being transformed – just as the Football Trust helped turn our dangerous, old stadia into the best stadia in the world.
Results at Football Foundation upgraded facilities:
20.8% increase in football participation (Government’s national target: 1% increase)
13.6% increase across all sports
20.1% increase amongst those 16 and under
23.9% increase amongst adults
21.3% increase amongst women and girls
26.2% more coaches being trained
180.3% more volunteers
54.5% of facilities also have non-football activity taking place
10.9% of the usage of facilities is by non-white participants, which is in line with the national profile
Over 90% of projects meeting or exceeding expectations.
