GRASS roots football in Bashley and the surrounding area has been given a major boost following a £5,000 ‘Grow the Game’ grant from the Football Foundation.

The Football Foundation is the country’s largest sports charity and the injection of funds will initially allow Bashley to start coaching boys and girls in the under-8s age group, as well as disabled children who are under 16.

‘Grow the Game’ funding increases participation in football by helping clubs to provide opportunities for new players, or training volunteers to support new players and teams.

The programme is delivered in partnership with all of the 46 County Football Associations and funded by the FA.

Bashley chairman Mike Cranidge said: “Bashley Football Club sees youth training and development as an integral part of the club’s future and we are working towards this with our partners Learning Through Sport. The award of a Football Foundation grant is the first step in the process of making Bashley Football Club a centre of excellence for growing the game in the New Forest area.”

Paul Thorogood, Football Foundation chief executive, said: “Congratulations to Bashley Football Club for working with the Hampshire Football Association to secure their £5,000 ‘Grow the Game’ grant, which will increase participation in the region as well as support football development in the area.”

So far, ‘Grow the Game’ has awarded 874 separate grants worth around £4.2million to grassroots football clubs.

Analysis of the monitoring and evaluation predicts that this will result in the creation of 3,791 new football teams competing in FA-affiliated leagues, 72,872 new players participating each week and 10,959 new qualifications or courses being completed.

The key strength of ‘Grow the Game’ is that its participation increases are sustainable. Its grants create a solid infrastructure of teams and newly-trained coaches in which new people can start playing the sport, rather than providing temporary activity sessions, which are vulnerable to drops in participation.