Sutton United

We are delighted that Sutton United FC has received a £4,500 Grow the Game grant from the Football Foundation, the country's largest sporting charity. The grant, which will provide a boost to grassroots football in Sutton, has paved the way for the club to develop Girls' football for Under 8s (Year 3 in September 2016) this year and two other young girls' teams over the following two years and to educate coaches involved with these teams. The money will also help fund the coaching sessions, the girls kits and equipment. We will be holding open trials at the club on Monday 4 July 2016 at 5.00pm for any girls wishing to join. No previous football experience is necessary. The Grow the Game scheme is designed to increase participation in our national game amongst under-represented groups by helping clubs to meet the essential costs of starting new teams. It is funded by the Premier League and The FA and delivered by the Football Foundation. Grow the Game goes beyond providing temporary activity sessions, which are more susceptible to drops in participation, but instead creates a solid infrastructure of newly-trained coaches and grassroots teams that play in FA-affiliated leagues for the long term. This means that the participation increases elicited by Grow the Game are sustainable and long-term rather than transient. Grow the Game grants enable clubs to provide regular football for three specific sections of society where there is a demand but also a lack of opportunities. These sections are: women and girls; disabled players; and boys and mens' teams from the Under-15 age group and above. This demographic has been targeted specifically to address the decline in participation in male football that occurs as boys progress through school to the more crucial exam years and eventually leave school and college altogether. Bobby Childs, Sutton United's Business Development and Community Fund Manager, said: ''We are very grateful to the Football Foundation for this opportunity to get more local girls involved in football at Sutton United.'' A Football Foundation Ambassador and one of the UK's best-known female sports journalists, Hayley McQueen, said: “Very well done to Sutton United FC for working with the Football Foundation and Surrey County FA to secure this Grow the Game grant. This investment, which is provided by the Premier League and The FA, has created an opportunity for more people to play football, which will not only keep them fit and healthy but also develop their life-skills. Grants like this one make a real difference to grassroots football. They help clubs meet the costs associated with starting a new team – like getting volunteer coaches qualified with FA coaching badges – and so help to drive up participation levels in the sport, especially amongst under-represented groups.”