Barton Town FC awarded funding to revamp football facilities

People living in Barton are set to benefit from fresh investment into local football facilities. The Swans have been awarded a grant from the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation, to renovate the bar and install more catch netting around the ground.

The Football Foundation is the UK’s largest sports charity and exists to improve the experience of playing football for everyone, by championing fair access to quality facilities.

Grassroots football matches and training cannot take place at the moment due to the COVID-19 outbreak and will only restart when it is safe to do so following government advice but this funding is great news for local football in the meantime.

This grant will enable The Swans, who play in the Northern Counties East League, to improve their bar and catch netting.

Players will be able to enjoy a better bar, which will represent a significant improvement on the existing clubhouse, which is too small and in need of renovation.

The Swans worked with the Football Foundation and the Lincolnshire FA to secure a grant towards the project.

Mark Gregory, Chairman of the Swans, said: “It’s great news that we have been accepted for the grant which we’ve been working on to help us complete the work for the new bar and add extra ball catch nets around the stadium. I would like to thank the Football Foundation, the FA and everyone else who has helped make this grant possible so we can continue to improve the Easy Buy Stadium’s facilities.”

Robert Sullivan, Interim Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: “We know the huge benefits playing regular football can have on individuals’ physical and mental well-being.  That’s why we’re committed to transforming the face of grassroots football facilities in this country.  It’s therefore very welcome news to hear that this funding will support Barton Town in developing the bar and inserting catch netting for their local community.

“Working with our partners – the Premier League, The FA, government and Sport England – we will be investing in over £1bn worth of local facilities across the country over the next decade.  We believe we can transform lives and strengthen communities by unlocking the power of pitches and this is another project that brings us closer to that ultimate goal.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation is the largest sports charity in the UK.  It champions and supports fair access to quality football facilities for everyone, regardless of postcode, gender, race, disability or place.

The Foundation receives money from the Premier League, The FA and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, through Sport England. This is matched with partnership funding and awarded as grants to create outstanding grassroots facilities that enable better games and attract more players, helping to transform communities.

The Football Foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary next year. Since 2000, it has awarded more than 17,300 grants to improve facilities worth more than £684m – including 829 artificial grass pitches, 3,175 natural grass pitches and 1,100 changing facilities. This has attracted an additional £870m of partnership funding – totalling over £1.5bn investment in grassroots football so far.

Through the Foundation, the Premier League, The FA, DCMS and Sport England have come together to create the National Football Facilities Strategy (NFFS) that will guide work over the next 10 years to transform many more local facilities. Local Football Facility Plans (LFFP) are being created to identify priority projects where demand is greatest, and the impact will be strongest and help stimulate the action required to deliver them.

For more information please contact the Communications Team at events@footballfoundation.org.uk