Thousands of grassroots football clubs face closure because of Covid, survey says

Former England goalkeeper David James urges government to 'act fast'

Boris Johnson tries out goalkeeping in Cheshire after pledging £550m investment in grassroots football in December 2019 (PA)

More than 5,000 grassroots football clubs will close forever because of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new survey.

Twelve per cent of the 43,000 clubs across the UK say they can not recover because of the severe impact on their finances over the past year.

They are now calling for the government to intervene by subsidising the use of state-owned training facilities and pitches or offering access to state schools outside teaching hours.

Members argue that widespread club closures will have a negative impact on local communities and result in a significant cut to the estimated £1.1bn income for local councils who hire out sports facilities.

Former England goalkeeper David James, who is backing the Final Whistle report on the state of grassroots football, said "the government must act, and fast."

He said: "Right now there are thousands of grassroots clubs on standby, having battened down the hatches, knowing full well the game’s over, never to return. The final whistle has been blown. And these clubs are not poorly run clubs - some of these clubs have a rich, 100-year history."

"Why has this been allowed to happen? The main reason is the government's disregard or misunderstanding of the value of community-run grassroots clubs to UK society. The government has the power to save grassroots football clubs and stop the final whistle being blown."

The government pledged in December 2019 to invest £550m in grassroots football to support a 2030 World Cup bid - only to delay the funding until at least Autumn 2021 because of the coronavirus crisis.

More than two-thirds of club secretaries said they were concerned for the future of grassroots football in the UK, with 96 per cent of clubs seeing a reduction in their income.

While most clubs have chosen not to apply for government grants - mostly because of the lengthy process - only 13 per cent of those that did apply (1,006 of 7,740) were successful.

Gary Maidment, chairman of Ampthill Town FC which leases land from the council, said his club had "applied for every grant going" and was awarded just £1,500 towards the £4,000 cost of pitch renovations.

He added: "During the first lockdown, not only did the local council not offer any financial support - apart from a temporary payment holiday - they stung us with a huge bill for maintenance to their land.

"The government will have a lot to answer for if grassroots clubs are left to close. Once a club has closed, the chances of it reopening are slim to none. There would be an incredibly high cost associated with establishing a new club, compared to the modest investment the government can make here to save existing clubs that impact the lives of millions."

A petition calling on the government to save grassroots football by subsidising the use of training facilities has been launched by the Utilita Energy company, which carried out the surveys for the Final Whistle report.