Beer Albion has been awarded a grant of £2,500 from the Premier League, the FA and Government’s Football Foundation to assist with grass pitch maintenance.
The £10,000 six-year tapered grant, part of the Foundation’s Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund, will help Beer Albion to improve the quality of the pitch at Stovar Long Lane Beer.
The investment was provided following the completion of a pitch inspection using the Football Foundation’s specially developed App, PitchPower, which is a mobile tool used for assessing the quality of grass football pitches.
Beer Albion will now be able to use the grant to complete the maintenance work identified in their PitchPower Assessment Report, which includes applying fertiliser, aeration, seeding and other maintenance practices.
Roger Hoare, Secretary of Beer Albion F.C. said: “We at the ‘Albion’ appreciate the support from the FA in our quest to make the playing surface at Beer Albion one of the best in the area.”
Robert Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, added: “This grant award to Beer Albion towards Pitch maintenance is vital for the local community in East Devon as they get back to playing football. Our Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund is supporting clubs across the country, helping them enhance and sustain their pitches to improve access to good quality facilities for grass-roots players.
“This is part of our wider ambition to get more people involved in football, regardless of their background, age or ability. By unlocking the power of pitches, we can help transform the lives of players and strengthen communities through the nation’s favourite game.”
These grants are key to the Foundation’s aim to help create 5,000 more quality pitches before the end of 2024, in line with the FA’s Grassroots Strategy. Alongside its PitchPower assessment tool, the Football Foundation has also created an online groundskeeping community called The Hive to provide expert support and advice to clubs. Anyone in Devon County FA area can find out more and sign up at https://footballfoundation.org.uk/grass-pitch-improvement
The grant comes as part of an investment of more than £16m that has been made available to help clubs prepare for the restart of grass-roots football following the COVID-19 pandemic.