No More Humdrum For Football In Brum
1st June 2004The listing was posted by The Football Foundation
Grass roots football in Birmingham is on the up and up, following the news of a massive £797,908 funding boost from the UK’s largest sports charity, the Football Foundation.
The cash bonanza will allow Birmingham City Council to create a new generation of sporting facilities at the Saltley Community Centre, Bordesley Green, constructing a new pavilion housing changing rooms for male and female footballers including those with disabilities. The site will also boast a modern floodlit all weather pitch
The funding forms part of a £1.5 million joint project, joint funded by Birmingham City Council which includes a five year football development programme and construction of a health and fitness facility.
Previously the site’s eight football pitches and cricket square have been serviced by a dilapidated, sixteen year old temporary building which the sixty teams regularly using the site have had to share.
Almost 150,000 players of all ages and abilities are expected to become regular users at the revamped site and links will be formed with local teams and schools to develop further opportunities for young people to access the new facilities.
The Foundation is dedicated to revitalising the grass roots of the game, constructing modern football facilities, developing football as a force for social cohesion and as a vehicle for education in communities throughout the country. Funded by the Premier League, the Football Association and the Government, the Football Foundation is the nation's largest sports charity having already funded projects worth almost £200m.
Peter Lee, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, welcomed this latest funding for football in Birmingham:
“The grass roots is the lifeblood of English football and I am delighted the Foundation is playing a major role in developing the game within communities in Birmingham. This superb new development is credit to the hard work and dedication of the City Council and of the local community.”
Robert James, Birmingham City Council’s District Director for Hodge Hill, said: “This is great news for local people, who will have the opportunity to improve their general health and well-being using the fitness suite. The improvements will also help football teams across the city to develop their sport using first class facilities that local people deserve.”
For further information contact Simon Taylor at the Football Foundation on 020 7 534 4280
or John Carrigan at Saltley Leisure Centre on 0121 464 8556 or e-mail