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FOCUS ANNUAL REVIEW 2017

ABOUT THE FOOTBALL FOUNDATION The Football Foundation is the UK’s largest sports charity. It was established in 2000 after the Premier League,The FA and the Government, via Sport England, joined forces to create an independent charitable vehicle to deliver their grassroots facilities investment. Over the last 17 years we have delivered £1.4 billion of grassroots sports projects into local communities across the country. These have developed new or refurbished facilities, including sports pitches and changing pavilions. These are fully sustainable and are increasing longer-term participation in football and a range of other sports. The are also vi ra t commu it hu s that act as platforms o hich a ra ge of e eﬁts to ider society, beyond sport, can be developed. Many local people that participate each week at facilities funded by the Football Foundation are also improving their physical and mental well-being, gaining ualiﬁcatio s a d career experie ce a d lear i g ma other life skills. THE FOOTBALL FOUNDATION’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES Our Board has seven Trustees appointed by our Funding Partners: Roger Burden (The FA)

Charlotte Leslie (DCMS)

Jennie Price (Sport England)

Peter McCormick OBE (Premier League)

Martin Glenn (The FA)

Richard Scudamore (Premier League)

Gary Hoffman (Independent Chairman) FOOTBALL FOUNDATION CHIEF EXECUTIVE Paul Thorogood FOOTBALL FOUNDATION PRESIDENT Rt Hon Lord Pendry

THE FOOTBALL FOUNDATION GRANTS PANEL The Grants Panel is made up of independent volunteers, who are recruited nationally, and representatives from our Funding Partners.The Panel reviews applications for funding once they have been assessed by the Foundation’s Grant Management Team.The Panel provide independent scrutiny to each application to ensure that it satisfies our funding criteria and will help to achieve the Foundation’s strategic objectives. It has delegated authority to award grants of up to £500,000, with the ability to make recommendations with regard to applications that exceed that amount. It is made up of the following members: Tarun Kapur CBE (Independent Chairman)

Niall O’Reilly (Independent Member)

Mick Dennis (Ind. Deputy Chairman)

Nick Perchard (Premier League)

John Denore (Independent Member)

Mark Pover (The FA)

Bob Knowles (Independent Member)

Patrick Brosnan (Sport England)

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FOOTBALL FOUNDATION FOCUS ANNUAL REVIEW 2017

CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S FOREWORD

THE FOUNDATION’S FUNDING PARTNERS

FOCUS ON FACILITIES

PREMIER LEAGUE PRIMARY STARS – KIT & EQUIPMENT SCHEME

GROW THE GAME

RESPECT

IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF THE NATION

AMBASSADORS

FINANCIAL SUMMARY

focus on the football foundation

CONTENTS

04 | focus chairman

CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION In his Foreword to this Annual Review, our CEO places the work of the Foundation into historical context and outlines the future, in the form of a new National Football Facilities Strategy. What I would like to do is concentrate on what we have achieved over the past year and to explain how the Foundation seeks to achieve as much value from each pound that is so generously donated by our Funding Partners, the Premier League, The FA and the Government, through Sport England. Every week, during the past year we have been snipping ribbons at facilities up and down the country, including all-weather third generation (3G) pitches; refurbished natural turf sports pitches, many with new drainage systems, and new changing pavilions, which have often replaced leaking, rusted shipping containers. In total, we have transformed more than 250 local sports sites. The effect on communities, many of which are in the most deprived areas of the country, has been transformative and the facilities that we have provided have helped more than a million people to get active. It’s more than just providing access to sports facilities though. The benefits to the economy, in terms of creating employment opportunities and helping to improve the general health of the nation, are considerable. However, there is much more to making this happen than simply writing a cheque and then walking away, believing that the job has been done. I know, from the various businesses I have been involved in, including my current role as CEO of Hastings Insurance Company, the effort that is needed to make sure that this money is turned into genuine benefit for the communities they support. The money is important, but it is energy, skills and commitment that really makes the difference. I am proud to say that much of this comes from the team at the Foundation, who do

everything possible to ensure that each pound that has been donated by our Funding Partners is put to work to achieve the best possible outcomes, tailored to the needs of each community. We take great care, from start to finish, to evaluate these ‘needs’ and to provide the necessary training and skills, so that each facility provides a long-term, sustainable community ‘asset’ that is available to all. However, it is the ongoing commitment of local volunteers, once the facility has been built and opened, that really glues the whole thing together. Without them, the tens of millions of pounds that we invest in communities each year would be much less effective. The Premier League, The FA and the Government should take great credit and immense pride in having the foresight to create the Foundation 17 years ago, and for building on this more recently through the development of a bold and ambitious National Football Facilities Strategy. This new strategy is a “gamechanging” statement of intent to revolutionise the quality of local football facilities provision across the country, and we look forward to taking you along with us on this very exciting journey as we execute it. There will be more in the coming months about this, but in the meantime, I hope that you enjoy reading about what we have been up to over the past year.

Gary Hoffman Chairman

05 | focus chief executive

The Football Foundation has invested in projects worth £1.4 billion since 2000. This has provided nearly 700 third-generation (3G) artificial pitches – all with floodlights; developed and improved more than 2,500 natural turf pitches and built nearly a thousand changing rooms. While this is a very proud achievement, what I am most proud of is the role the Foundation has played in changing perceptions about the importance of facilities development to our national game, both in terms of increasing participation levels and improving the quality of talent development. The Foundation has been on an amazing journey over the past 17 years, and our mission and focus has always been clear: improving the quality of local, community pitches. Back in 2000, wherever you looked, up and down the country, the standard was woeful – embarrassing even. We had become so inured to playing on pitches that resembled the quagmires in November and December, and then frozen and rutted in January and February that we didn’t expect anything else. The problem had been ongoing for so long and was so deep-seated that nobody could remember when it was any different, so our expectations were very, very low. Through the most extensive national survey of grassroots football facilities that had ever taken place, we identified that, of more than 45,000 pitches surveyed, 94% of changing rooms had no facilities for female players or officials; 38% didn’t have any changing rooms at all; 41% suffered from poor drainage; and 94% did not have floodlights. Therefore, as most participants were at work or at school during the day and it tends to get dark at around 4pm in winter, one must ask where football coaching and training was taking place during the week. The answer, of course, was in local gyms, community centres and community halls, which are not exactly conducive to coaching and nurturing talent. So not only did this impact on the general experience of participants, which was invariably limited to playing competitive matches at the weekend on terrible pitches, but this certainly did not help talent development from the grassroots up. The Foundation has lobbied hard over many years for greater focus and investment into artificial surfaces with floodlights, so that effective coaching and training can take place during

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S FOREWORD winter evenings on dependable, quality surfaces. So, it is incredibly heartening to see that facilities development, together with age-appropriate coaching, is now right at the top of the agenda. This is evidenced by the recent development of the National Football Facilities Strategy. This Strategy embraces the need to support all forms of the game, formal affiliated and informal, non-affiliated alike; for boys and girls, women and men, young and old – for everyone. Although £1.4 billion has been a great start, along with the 700 3G all-weather pitches, Germany has 10,000 all-weather pitches. So, we still have some way to go. The great news is that everyone who needs to be involved is absolutely focused on fixing this problem as soon as possible, including, of course the Foundation. We are responsible for executing the new Strategy and for delivering the benefits to sport and wider society. We will employ all the knowledge, experience and tools that we have developed over the past 17 years to squeeze as much benefit as we can out of every pound generously provided by the Premier League, The FA and Government, as fast as possible. In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy reading about what we have been doing over the past year.

Paul Thorogood Chief Executive

THE FOUNDATION’S FUNDING PARTNERS The oot all ou datio is a example of ho the foot all industry and government are collaborating to achieve something special for the good of the nation. Something that makes a lasting impact to communities and improves the lives of real people right across the country. Every brick in every pavilion and every blade of grass on every pitch that you see in this Annual Review has been made possible thanks to the generous contributions of our Funding Partners – the Premier League, The FA and the Government, through Sport England. Their vision in coming together to create the Foundation in 2000 has resulted in thousands of new sports facilities being developed across the country. This has opened up access to our national game to more people, of all ages and abilities, than ever before.

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Martin Glenn

Executive Chairman, Premier League

Chief Executive, The FA

“The Premier League has enjoyed working closely with the Football Foundation to help improve the number and quality of grassroots football facilities over the last 17 years.

“We are committed to addressing the issue of poor quality pitches by building state-of-the-art, all-weather facilities. Better accessibility to quality pitches and changing rooms will drive up participation rates across all ages, genders and abilities.

“Facilities we develop through the Foundation have become so much more than simply attractive places for people to play sport purely for the love of it. They are venues used for a range of programmes – including the delivery of community outreach projects by professional football clubs. “We look forward to continuing our close partnership with the Foundation, and our fellow Funding Partners, to develop even more of these first-class facilities right across the country.”

“The FA is dedicated to making football a game for everyone. Our work with the Football Foundation is an important part of how we achieve this.

“The Football Foundation does an outstanding job in helping us to achieve this goal alongside the County FA network. Over the next five years, it will support us to deliver many new facilities in towns and cities across the country, so the future for the grassroots game in England is very bright.”

Tracey Crouch MP Minister for Sport and Civil Society

“Playing sport offers a myriad of benefits. The benefits to physical and mental health are now well established. Having coached a girls’ grassroots football team for a number of years, I have also seen how formerly shy children have come out of their shell and grown in confidence. “The Government’s unique partnership with the football industry, through the Football Foundation, is unlocking those benefits for local people in towns and cities across the country. “By investing in new and refurbished grassroots sites, we are enabling far more people to stay active by playing football and a wide range of other sports. This ensures that they can enjoy all the positive attributes that regular sport brings, whilst the nation feels the benefits that come from having a healthy, active population.”

focus on the funding partners

Richard Scudamore

FOCUS ON FACILITIES TRANSFORMING THE LANDSCAPE OF GRASSROOTS SPORT Last year, the Football Foundation transformed more than 250 local sports sites. As a result of our delivery of the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, £27m worth of state-of-the-art facilities now sit at the heart of communities across the country. The Foundation does not award grants arbitrarily. We target investment into the areas that are most in need of improved facility provision and that have the highest demand to play sport. In this way, we achieve significant participation increases when the facilities open. More people playing sport in the short term is, of course, a welcome outcome. However, the Foundation’s through-life approach means these very high levels of usage are sustained long into the future.This is true not just of football and multi-sport participation but also club development and coaching outcomes. We design these outcomes in partnership with the applicant

and our colleagues in the County FAs for every single grant that we award. We then monitor and enforce the delivery of these outcomes for a minimum of 21 years – maximising the impact of our Funding Partners’ investment. The all-weather pitches are financially sustainable too. Bespoke business plans are developed jointly by the Foundation and the project that focus on providing a ‘sinking fund’. This means when a pitch gets to the end of its serviceable life, funds are already in place to replace it without the need for any future subsidy from the Foundation. Using football as a force for social good is a part of the Foundation’s strategy. We look to harness this by creating links with professional football clubs in the local catchment areas of the facilities that we invest in. Where capacity allows, they use our facilities to deliver their hugely impactful community outreach work.

09 | focus on facilities

IN 2017, 1.08M PEOPLE PLAYED SPORT AT FACILITIES DELIVERED BY THE FOUNDATION, WITH A FURTHER 423,000 PUPILS ACCESSING THEM THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR.

238,447 MORE GRASSROOTS FOOTBALLERS USE OUR PITCHES COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, WITH AN EXTRA 66,684 WOMEN AND GIRLS ALSO NOW PLAYING REGULAR SPORT.

OVER HALF

OF OUR 3G PITCHES, FUNDED IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, ARE LINKED TO A PROFESSIONAL CLUB’S COMMUNITY OUTREACH ARM, SOME OF WHICH WILL HAVE HELPED HOLD ONE-OFF FOOTBALL TOURNAMENTS WHICH 1.1M PEOPLE ATTENDED. HUBS OF OPPORTUNITY, OUR FACILITIES PAVED THE WAY FOR 17,659 PEOPLE TO GAIN A COACHING QUALIFICATION AND FOR 3,259 TO TRAIN AS A REFEREE. THIS WILL HAVE BEEN AIDED BY THE 28,119 VOLUNTEERS WHO HELP RUN OUR FACILITIES. ON AVERAGE LAST YEAR, AT FACILITIES WITHIN THEIR FIVE-YEAR FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT PLAN, FOOTBALL PARTICIPATION ROSE 11% AND MULTI-SPORT PARTICIPATION BY 12%.

FOCUS ON FACILITIES LARGE SCALE PROJECTS Every week several major new community sports complexes open their doors across the country, having been enhanced with investment from our Funding Partners: the Premier League,The FA and the Government, through Sport England. We feature three examples of these larger-scale facilities. Properly drained natural grass pitches at a site in Plymouth, funded with the help of a large grant, mean that fewer matches are now lost due to poor weather. A new changing pavilion in Lincolnshire means that players can now prepare for games in a clean and modern environment. The St George’s Park Sheffield Graves complex is the first site developed through the Parklife scheme. Parklife is a five year commitment to build many multi-pitch hubs across towns and cities in England. The £200m programme receives investment from The FA alongside the Government, Premier League and local partners, and is being delivered by the Football Foundation.

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Sheffield Graves is a new football centre in South Yorkshire.The site, which comprises two full-size floodlit 3G pitches; a club house; coach education room and changing rooms, was opened in October 2016. It is equipped with state-of-the-art monitoring and evaluation systems.Visitors log in before they start playing, which allows the facility to track how many people are using it in real time.The

resultant data is monitored and can be segmented to ensure the facility is performing at its optimum level, meaning the best possible playing experience for people that use it. Abbey Lane JFC and Sheffield United Junior Blades FC both opted to use Sheffield Graves as their home ground. Before either club were able to play at the newly built hub, their games were frequently cancelled because of bad weather. Thanks to the new site, the Junior Blades are saving £6,000 a year on pitch hire fees with players benefiting from a consistent timetable for training and matches. Jonathan Camm, Abbey Lane JFC’s Club Secretary, said, “The facilities at Sheffield Graves are fantastic and have enabled us to take on more players. We now have the capacity to put into motion plans to introduce female teams as well, and encourage as many people to get involved in the sport as possible.”

NEW PLYMOUTH PITCH MEANS FEWER GAMES CALLED OFF Plymouth’s Staddiscombe pitches are one of the area’s most popular places to play football. However, the eight-pitch site was prone to waterlogging and to freezing over in the winter. The result was that countless hours of training and matches were lost. All that changed when a grant of £249,460 from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund helped to install proper drainage. Now the site is used all-year round with local teams of all ages and abilities playing games there.

WOODHALL SPA UNITED JFC’S NEW CHANGING PAVILION A £235,183 Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund grant gave Lincolnshire’s grassroots game a new changing room pavilion.The state-of-the-art building comprises: four team changing rooms; two officials’ changing rooms; a clubroom; kitchen facilities; spectator toilets and storage equipment. Forecasts suggest that its introduction will increase the club’s number of female teams by five and raise on-site participation by 53%.

focus on facilities

ST GEORGE’S PARK SHEFFIELD GRAVES

FOCUS ON FACILITIES SMALL SCALE PROJECTS PRESCOT SOCCER AND LEISURE CENTRE, LIVERPOOL A £99,996 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund helped to convert an old sanddressed pitch into a new, state-of-the-art third generation artificial grass surface at Liverpool’s Prescot Soccer and Leisure Centre. The new facility has already helped to counter the number of training sessions and matches that were previously lost to the weather. More than ten weeks of football were postponed last winter because the old surface became unplayable. The new pitch is used by more than 800 grassroots footballers every single week. Some of those players are members of one of the

20 partner clubs who call the site home.These include Prescot Cables FC and Knowsley Youth FC, whose reserve and youth teams all play there. A weekly Girls’ Development Centre takes place at the facility.This means that local girls, ranging from Under-7 to Under-11 level, are now getting opportunities to play football, with quality coaching, that previously did not exist. Additionally, a bespoke programme for Under-17 to Under19-year-olds supports progression into women’s senior teams. We have helped to forge a strong Professional Club link at the facility too. Both Everton in the

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The Liverpool County FA also help to run initiatives such as Just Play and Mash Up, which offer recreational football opportunities.These programmes are often excellent pathways for young people to join established affiliated teams. A dedicated Disability Officer also delivers weekly football sessions on the pitch. It is not just football that is supported at the site either.There is a strong multi-sport presence. A ’This Girl Can’ fitness boot camp is a weekly occurrence, as is a rounders session for mums from local schools. A newly created rugby team also plays and trains on the facility.

EVERTON’S TOM DAVIES A FAN OF YOUNGSTER SCOUTED AT PRESCOT Big things beckon for young Jamie Fairclough. The eight-year-old defender was scouted by Everton FC whilst playing on the Prescot Leisure Centre’s new 3G pitch. Jamie benefited from uninterrupted play through the year, as well as structured training and coaching delivered by FA qualified coaches. He flourished. His dad, Mark, said, “Simply, without the Prescot 3G he wouldn’t be where he is today. His Mum and I are so proud of everything he has achieved – the pitch was the springboard.” Tom Davies presented him with the Player of the Year award last season. Jamie said, “It’s a dream come true to be playing for Everton – I’ve been all over Europe playing in competitions with them. I used to be a bit shy but I feel a lot more grown up now and that wouldn’t have been possible with the Prescot 3G.”

focus on facilities

Community and the Liverpool Football Club Foundation use the site for holiday programmes and other initiatives, such as Premier League Kicks, Primary School Fun Festivals and Fun Football night sessions.

PREMIER LEAGUE PRIMARY STARS – KIT & EQUIPMENT SCHEME This year saw the launch of an exciting initiative by the Premier League. The Football Foundation was tasked with delivering a key aspect of it. The Premier League Primary Stars initiative uses the appeal of the Premier League and professional football clubs to inspire children to learn, be active and develop important life skills. Free to download teaching materials, that cover subjects from English and Maths to teamwork and PE, are available to every primary school in England and Wales. The aim is to inspire 5-11-year-olds in the classroom, the playground and on the sports field. Registered schools were also given the opportunity to apply for free kit, equipment and books from celebrated children’s authors, with this element of the scheme delivered by the Foundation.

Professional football club staff work with teachers to deliver fun, educational sessions in a range of subjects within local partner schools. Competitions vary from national football tournaments, to creative writing and visual challenges for reluctant readers. Speaking about Premier League Primary Stars, Premier League Executive Chairman Richard Scudamore said, “Premier League Primary Stars uses the power and popularity of football to inspire children to work hard and enjoy English, Maths and a range of other subjects. “Our clubs already do great work in primary schools, and this new initiative is supporting and enhancing that work. “The Football Foundation has, as usual, proved to be an excellent delivery partner in making the kit and equipment element of Primary Stars so successful and popular with pupils and teachers.”

MORE THAN HALF OF SCHOOLS WHO WILL RECEIVE KIT ARE LOCATED IN THE

20%

MOST DEPRIVED COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

£2M

INVESTMENT FROM THE PREMIER LEAGUE.

3,763

KIT & EQUIPMENT PACKS WERE SENT TO SCHOOLS

15 | focus on kit & equipment

CHRISTIAN FUCHS AND MATT LOWTON GO BACK TO SCHOOL TO INSPIRE YOUNGSTERS Christian Fuchs helped Leicester City Community Trust inspire a new generation of youngsters to get active. He joined coaches in putting on a PE lesson at Barley Croft Primary School using Premier League Primary Stars kit and equipment. The Foxes’ defender said, “When I was a kid I’d play football with my friends and I’d always wished I had the opportunity to play with a professional footballer. These kids have had the chance to do that thanks to Premier League Primary Stars.” Fuchs’ visit was part of the club’s ‘Inspired By Champions’ resilience workshop, which looked to highlight Leicester’s journey from relegation candidates to Premier League champions. Meanwhile, Burnley FC defender Matt Lowton dropped by St Stephen’s Church of England Primary School – one of 20 schools that work with Burnley FC in the Community (BitC) – to hand out new Premier League Primary Stars kit and equipment at their PE lesson.

BitC deliver six lessons a week at the school and Lowton remembered his own school days fondly, “It was great to visit St Stephen’s – it took me back to my PE lessons at school, which I always enjoyed! Premier League Primary Stars is such a great initiative for our local community. These children and their families support us every week no matter what, so it’s great to inspire them to be the best they can be.”

GROW THE GAME CREATING BRAND NEW TEAMS Funded by The FA and delivered by the Football Foundation, Grow the Game has developed into one of the country’s most successful sports participation schemes. It increases participation by providing grants to grassroots football clubs that enable them to create brand new teams. Grow the Game grants lessen the burden of costs associated with starting new grassroots football teams. Traditionally underrepresented groups in grassroots football are prioritised. These include:

• Women and girls; • Male teams of under-14s and upwards; • Disability teams.

£1,500 is available for each new team a club creates. Expenditure which the funding can help a club pay for includes: FA coaching courses; FA league affiliation costs; referees’ fees; first aid kits; and even football kit and equipment. In 2016/17, 794 grants were awarded worth £2.52m creating 1,682 new teams and 23,987 new footballers in the process.

17 | focus on grow the game

GRANT HELPS BIRMINGHAM’S AFRICAN COMMUNITY TO ESTABLISH NEW FOOTBALL TEAM West Midlands-based Nineveh FC was created thanks to a £1,500 Grow the Game grant. The team’s Manager, Omar Gassama, applied for funding after reading details of the scheme online and immediately realised the potential. “Grow the Game funding allowed us to start our team, which has had a truly life changing effect on our local community,” said Omar, who also doubles as the team’s Club Secretary. Previously, Nineveh FC was a casual set-up with players from the local area meeting for the occasional training session or friendly match. The team attracted the majority of its players from the local Gambian community, with a number of other African countries represented amongst the squad. Although they aspired to be part of an affiliated league, they lacked the necessary finance and know-how. That all changed when they contacted the Birmingham FA, who were on hand to guide them through the Grow the Game application process. The resultant grant paid for pitch hire, several coaching qualifications and first aid courses. Omar is adamant, “Without the grant, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

With access to better facilities and coaching paid for by the grant, the team won a league and Birmingham County Cup double last year. Plans for the future are bright with the club on the lookout for more players, with the hope of starting a second team before too long. Omar maintains, “Although on paper it might look like we have just started a new team, we have actually created something much bigger. We are now a focal point for the local community, something they join or come along and support.”

“ON PAPER IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE WE JUST STARTED A NEW TEAM, WE ACTUALLY CREATED SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER.”

907 RESPECT PACKS WERE AWARDED LAST SEASON.

RESPECT - CREATING A POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR FOOTBALL Solely funded by The FA and delivered by the Foundation, the FA Respect Equipment Scheme was set up in 2008 to encourage good behaviour in grassroots football from players and spectators alike through the award of ‘Respect packs.’

This year the scheme was relaunched by The FA’s National Respect Project Manager, Nathan French. Clubs and leagues applied for vouchers entitling them to a 75% discount on the cost of equipment. This included stronger pitch-side spectator barriers with a call to action, additional promotional materials and attention-boards that can be branded with the club or league’s logos. A suite of digital assets was also made available to all grassroots clubs, leagues, schools and County FAs across England. This provided

parents, coaches, players and match officials with a range of positive messages which were widely shared via social media. England Manager and Football Foundation Ambassador, Gareth Southgate, said, “Everyone has the right to enjoy our national game without fear of abuse or antisocial behaviour. These Respect packs will continue to help clubs, leagues and schools create the right environment for the grassroots game to flourish in a positive way.”

“EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO ENJOY OUR NATIONAL GAME WITHOUT FEAR OF ABUSE OR ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR.” ENGLAND MANAGER, GARETH SOUTHGATE

CUMBRIA AND KENT TEAMS BENEFITING FROM BETTER BEHAVIOUR AT GAMES Mark Bullman set up Cumbria-based Stanwix FC in 1994 and has seen the club grow exponentially since then. In 2000, Stanwix were founder members of the Carlisle Girls’ and Women’s league, underlining their ethos that football is for everyone.Today, they boast nearly 20 sides catering for boys, girls, men and women of all ages and abilities. “We are a community club,” said Mark. “We want to give everyone that lives up here a chance to play football, if they want to. Everyone deserves the right to partake in football without fear of abuse.” The club purchased Respect banners and barriers to help reinforce this message. “Some of the behaviour that we used to see and hear was wrong,” recalled Mark. Now that has all changed. A typical Saturday will see upwards of 120 parents and guardians watching their children play. In Mark’s words, the Respect banners and barriers, “Act as a subtle reminder that we don’t tolerate bad language or aggressive actions.They really do work, so credit to The FA for coming up with the idea originally.”

Punjab United FC, who play in Kent, are another example of a club embracing The FA’s Respect scheme.They have been going for more than 15 years and count the Kent County League and Kent Intermediate Challenge Shield as recent cup successes. However, as Jindi Banwait, the club’s Secretary and also an FA qualified Level 2 coach explains, the real sense of achievement is felt in the truly inclusive approach to welcoming new players. “We are a predominantly Asian club but we are open to everyone regardless of race or religion. We pride ourselves on that and want to set an example.” Their approach is working and the purchase of FA Respect equipment has helped that. “Players, parents, coaches, refs – everyone buys into our philosophy which is built on mutual respect,” said Jindi. From the youngest to the oldest age groups, Respect signage and messaging is clear in dressing rooms and pitch side. “Maintaining good behaviour isn’t without it’s challenges but those are made easier when the majority of people are pulling in the right direction. FA Respect is fundamental to that,” adds Jindi.

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“SOME OF THE BEHAVIOUR WE USED TO SEE WAS WRONG, NOW THAT HAS ALL CHANGED.”

20 | focus on the health of the nation

IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF THE NATION When run-down changing rooms, ragged sanddressed surfaces and waterlogged grass pitches are replaced with state-of-the-art facilities, armies of new players are encouraged to take up community sport. Attracted to safe, comfortable and welcoming facilities, existing players are also retained, no longer likely to leave because of substandard provisions. For more than 17 years, the Football Foundation has been at the forefront of improving the country’s inventory of grassroots football facilities. At the same time, it has consistently evidenced substantial increases in participation. Last year at our sites, on average, football participation rose 11% and multi-sport participation by 12%. However, the societal benefits of new facilities go much deeper and are felt much wider. Thousands of people use one of the Foundation’s 2,500 facilities every single week – regular exercise that improves people’s physical health. Also, extensive research demonstrates regular sport and exercise has a positive effect on people’s mental health. Increased sense of purpose, support networks and the natural release of endorphins through exercise all contribute.

The Foundation has hundreds of facilities under construction at any one point. Even during this period, they have a positive effect on communities through the tens of thousands of jobs that are created. Many more jobs and volunteers are generated long-term, once the facility has opened its doors to the public. The emergence of one of our facilities is often the catalyst for the broader regeneration of an area. Aside from the aesthetic improvement, community hubs attract businesses and other investment to the area. Once open they become beacons of personal development. Opportunities to improve crucial life skills, like communication and the value of preparation, can be realised. Guidance from the community arm of local professional clubs is felt through a range of vocational support and other work experience opportunities. Facilities delivered by the Foundation, using investment from the Premier League, The FA and the Government through Sport England, help to create an active nation. In so doing they support the health of sport, people and the economy.

MORE PEOPLE PLAYING SPORT

HELPS MENTAL HEALTH

JOBS CREATED

EXISTING PLAYERS RETAINED

IMPROVES PHYSICAL HEALTH

LIFE SKILLS DEVELOPED

Chris Powell, former England and Charlton Athletic FC defender.

Peter Beardsley MBE, former England striker and current Newcastle United FC Development Manager.

Graeme Le Saux, sports broadcaster and former Blackburn Rovers FC and Chelsea FC defender.

James Beattie, former England and Southampton FC striker and current Middlesbrough FC First Team Coach.

John Scales, former England, Wimbledon FC and Liverpool FC defender.

Georgie Bingham, talkSPORT’s Weekend Sport Breakfast presenter.

Ben Shephard, ITV’s Good Morning Britain and Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday presenter.

Dion Dublin, former England, Manchester United FC and Coventry City FC striker, and BBC TV presenter.

Gareth Southgate, former England and Aston Villa FC defender, Manager of England Senior Men’s Team.

Russell Martin, Scotland and Norwich City FC defender.

Dan Walker, Football Focus and BBC Breakfast TV presenter.

Lawrie McMenemy MBE, FA Cupwinning Southampton FC Manager.

Duncan Watmore, Striker, England Under-21s and Sunderland AFC.

Hayley McQueen, Anchor, Sky Sports News HQ.

Faye White MBE, former England Women’s Seniors Captain and Arsenal FC defender.

Gary Neville, sports broadcaster and former Manchester United FC and England defender.

focus on ambassadors

AMBASSADORS

Nigel Adkins, former Manager of Southampton FC, Reading FC and Sheffield United FC.

FINANCIAL SUMMARY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2017 TRUSTEES’ STATEMENT The summarised financial information is not the full Annual Report and Financial Statements but a summary of information derived from the group’s and parent charitable company’s statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 May 2017 and the group’s balance sheet as at 31 May 2017. The summarised financial information does not contain additional information derived from the Annual Report. The full Annual Report and Financial Statements, from which the summarised financial information is derived, were approved by the Trustees on 20 September 2017 and copies have been filed with the Charity Commission and with the Registrar of Companies. The Independent Auditors have issued an unmodified report on the full financial statements. The statement in the independent auditors’ report, under section 496 of the Companies Act 2006, was unqualified. The full independent auditors’ report contained no statement under sections 498(2) (a) and (b) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006. On behalf of the Board of Trustees

Gary Hoffman Chairman 30 November 2017

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ STATEMENT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE FOOTBALL FOUNDATION We have examined the supplementary summary financial information included within the Football Foundation Annual Review 2017 for the year ended 31 May 2017, which comprises the summary group and parent charitable company balance sheet as at 31 May 2017 and the summary consolidated statement of financial activities for the year then ended.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES AND THE AUDITORS The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Football Foundation Annual Review 2017, in accordance with applicable United Kingdom law and the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities (revised 2005), which includes information extracted from the full annual financial statements of the Football Foundation for the year ended 31 May 2017. Our responsibility is to report to you our opinion on the consistency of the summary financial information, included within the Football Foundation Annual Review 2017, with the full annual financial statements for the year ended 31 May 2017. This statement, including the opinion, has been prepared for and only for the charitable company’s members as a body and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving this opinion, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this statement is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.

23 | focus financial summary

BASIS OF OPINION Our examination involved agreeing the balances disclosed in the summary financial information to full annual financial statements. Our audit report on the charitable company’s full annual financial statements describes the basis of our opinion on those financial statements. OPINION In our opinion the supplementary financial information is consistent with the full annual financial statements of the Football Foundation for the year ended 31 May 2017. We have not considered the effects of any events between the date on which we signed our report on the full annual financial statements (20 September 2017) and the date of this statement.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors London 30 November 2017

SUMMARY BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MAY 2017 Group

Total assets Total liabilities

Charity

2017

2016

2017

2016

£’000

91,786

60,177

91,474

59,956

(42,757)

(60,004)

(42,616)

(59,816)

Net assets

49,029

173

48,858

140

Total funds

49,029

173

48,858

140

SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2017

Total income Total expenditure

Restricted

Unrestricted

Total

funds

2017

2016

£’000

561

67,838

68,399

31,922

(561)

(19,456)

(20,017)

(45,428)

Net gain on investments

474

Net movement in funds

48,856

Fund balances brought forward

173

13,486

Fund balances carried forward

42,029

173

193 (13,313)

THE FOOTBALL FOUNDATION WHITTINGTON HOUSE 19-30 ALFRED PLACE LONDON WC1E 7EA T 0345 345 4555 W www.footballfoundation.org.uk Registered Charity Number 1079309 Registered in England and Wales Company limited by guarantee Company Number 3876305