The Euro 2028 legacy has already been betrayed

The poor state of grassroots football risks depriving England of future stars despite a pledge to plough hundreds of millions of pounds into the game at a local level ahead of Euro 2028, campaigners have warned. The decision to award the next Uefa European Championship to a joint bid by the UK and Ireland was accompanied by a promise from successive Conservative and Labour governments to dedicate at least £400m to rejuvenating community sports facilities, including all-weather football pitches. But critics argue underinvestment has left the beautiful game in a shabby state across the nation despite England hosting the world’s richest football league in the shape of the Premiership, which last year generated revenues of some £7bn. The Football Foundation, the charity which channels funding from the government, the Premiership and the Football Association back into the grassroots game, has ploughed more than £1bn into community facilities since 2000. But it has also acknowledged “shortfalls” in provision of community pitches and all-weather surfaces. Fewer ‘maverick’ stars because of ‘rigid’ grassroots system Campaigners warn there is too little investment going into the game, and what money is being spent is too tightly focused on a “rigid” youth coaching system that it is claimed hinders the development of the most creative or “maverick” players. Ernie Brennan, chief executive of the Children’s Football Alliance and former youth coach, said: “The system is simply not fit for purpose. The money is not reaching thousands of groups and teams who don’t adhere to the ‘win at all costs’ model of association football. “What we have built is a ‘Premier League’ for tots that does not serve the game or ultimately provide the sort of players we need. We have a very manufactured and pressured model and actually it doesn’t allow the cream to the rise to the top as it should.” He added: “What’s happening is there is now no room in the upper reaches of football for talented mavericks – players like Paul Gascoigne probably wouldn’t make it through today’s system. “If you look at the world’s great players, they are more likely to have been playing football with their sisters than coming through a rigid club system. We mustn’t lose sight of the importance of play and fun in football.” 2,000 too few all-weather pitches In evidence given to MPs, the Football Foundation said last year that England needs 2,000 more all-weather pitches after a rapid growth in demand, particularly among female players. By comparison, Germany has more than double the number of advanced “3G” all-weather pitches, and England also has more than double the players per pitch than Germany, Norway, Finland and Scotland. In its statement to the Media, Culture and Sport Select Committee, the charity said: “The brilliant growth in demand for the game, particularly among women and girls, is outpacing our ability to supply the necessary facilities, leading to the… shortfall in community sports facilities across England.” The Football Foundation did not respond to The i Paper. Research published by Starling Bank this week found that 97 per cent of coaches of grassroots female football clubs say their team needs more funding. Of more than 2,000 female footballers surveyed, a quarter said they had missed games because they could not afford access to a pitch. A separate study found 96 per cent of local authorities do not have enough all-weather pitches to meet demand for community football. Following the disappointment of this week’s angst-ridden World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina, the Three Lions must turn to Euro 2028, which will be played at nine venues across the British Isles, for their next attempt at winning their first international men’s tournament since 1966. In the meantime, the Lionesses, who are reigning European champions, will next year head to Brazil for Women’s World Cup. £1.3bn invested… but footballing glory must wait But critics say the nation’s aspirations for footballing glory will fall short unless there is adequate investment in the game at its most basic level. In a statement, Save Grassroots Football, a Liverpool-based campaign group, said: “You don’t need to look very far for one of the reasons to England’s failure once again at a big tournament – a lack of investment into grassroots football for many many years is one of them. Where does everyone think Kane, Bellingham all started off? [It was] grassroots football.” Substantial sums are nonetheless being ploughed into football, alongside other sports. The Football Foundation points out it has spent £1.3bn in the last 25 years, providing 1,200 all-weather pitches, 14,000 grass pitches and 1,500 changing rooms. It receives about £40m a year each from the Premier League and the FA, with the Government providing a further £68m this year. The taxpayer funding sits alongside a promise from ministers to bolster community sports as the UK hosts events such as Euro 2028 and the opening stages of Tour de France in the next 24 months. The Government last year unveiled a £400m spending plan for local sport, with £98m being spent this year on 991 projects, from a new all-weather pitch in Essex to a “multi-sports” facility in Belfast. A further £86m will be spent next year. ‘Bottleneck’ endangering participation But experts point to a “bottleneck” in the system whereby they say there is ever-increasing demand to play football but small clubs and teams struggle to find the funds, volunteer staff, facilities and even referees to play the game. Nearly 12 million people in England play football regularly, including over 3 million children. Paul Coltman, a grassroots football consultant based in Somerset, said: “We have a growing population that wants to play more football. But the problem is we have a bottleneck in terms of facilities, volunteer coaches and even match officials to meet demand. “We already have waiting lists and if we don’t have the facilities for people to play, there will be fewer teams and even longer waiting lists. “And it will be the grassiest of grassroots football teams and clubs that play on your village greens and city parks that suffer. They will be the teams that won’t exist in 10 years because they won’t have the volunteers, the facilities will be housing estates and there’s nowhere else for them to play.”