Grow the Game funding for Wingate & Finchley

Sky Sports News presenter, Hayley McQueen, has congratulated Wingate & Finchley Youth FC after they received a £6,000 Grow the Game grant from the Football Foundation, the country's largest sports charity. The grant, which will provide a boost to grassroots football in Finchley has paved the way for Wingate & Finchley FC to create two new Youth Sides, providing football for upto 80 Youth players ranging age 15-18. It will also enable them to create upto 3 new coaching roles per year. 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. Andrew Kouroushi, Head of Youth Development said: "We are very grateful to the Football Foundation and the Football Association for approving our application. This funding goes a long way to helping us develop young youth team players in our area. It will help pay for facilities, training and courses for our coaches. Thank you to the London FA and their advisory team, for helping us create a strong case for the funding. #TeamWingate" A Football Foundation Ambassador and one of the UK's best-known female sports journalists, Hayley McQueen, said: "Very well done to Wingate & Finchley Youth FC for working with the Football Foundation and London 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." For more information contact: Andrew Kouroushi - Head of Youth Development - Wingate & Finchley FC Football Foundation at: events@footballfoundation.org.uk.