Funding for football equipment for Great Yarmouth Man vs Fat 11s team

We’re pleased to announce we’re supporting Great Yarmouth Man vs Fat with funding towards football equipment.

Great Yarmouth Man vs Fat football 11-a-side team has been recently formed by members wanting to progress with their journey through football. The FA-affiliated team are made up of people who are looking to lose weight and increase their wellbeing. Their philosophy is that “no matter what, things can still be done and achieved”.

The funding will help the team purchase football equipment including bibs, balls, cones, kit and first aid equipment. The better training facilities will help Great Yarmouth Man vs Fat establish and grow the team quickly and continue in the mini league.

Treasurer, Craig Cannon said "The funding we receive will help us with the bigger goal of losing weight, than the one in the net”.

We wish Great Yarmouth Man vs Fat every success for the future and look forward to seeing their progress along the way.

For the latest news on Great Yarmouth Man vs Fat, visit their website and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in February 2023.

Shrublands FC receive grant to help purchase essential equipment

WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS. WHILE YOU AND YOUR TEAMS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO MEET IN PERSON, PLEASE #STAYHOMESTAYACTIVE. 

We are delighted to be able to support Shrublands FC, which has endured some terrible hardships since 2019. The growing, non-profit community club has been successfully running since 1988, and currently has approximately 180 children and adults at the club. 

“We offer a safe and fun environment for all our adults and children while teaching them how to play football and socialise and bond within the community.”

Back in 2019, their clubhouse was set alight as a result of arson where they lost hundreds of pounds in equipment and kits. Then in 2020 with Covid, they have suffered with a loss of income from frozen sub payments and missed out on hosting two tournaments which resulted in a big loss to the club. These events help support improvements and upgrades to worn out equipment and help towards replacing team kits for the coming season.

Fortunately, they are now at stage three with the local council and other funding bodies on the rebuild of the clubhouse. However, they’ve have been unable to replace all the equipment lost due to damage. They are in need of equipment to help with the upkeep of the pitches and make improvements to the grounds, which will benefit not just their members but also the local community.

The field is open to members of the public 24/7 and they would like to be able to maintain the pitches regularly to benefit the whole community - with our grant going towards the purchase of a tractor.

“We are a small club compared to most around the area, however, we are continually growing through advertising on social media and word of mouth. The tractor would help us immensely, as at the moment we are relying on the council or borrowing equipment to maintain our ground and pitches regularly. The field is not just for members of Shrublands Football Club, it is for members of the public and community too.” Emily Wright, Committee Member.

You can follow their progress here: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

If you are part of an amazing sports team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in February 2021.

Caister FC receive funding for new dugouts

We are proud to announce our latest funding has been awarded to Caister FC, a club with seven youth sides ranging from under 9’s up to under 16’s and three adult sides. With players, managers and committee members they have over 200 members!

The grant has been awarded to support the build of some permanent dugouts beside the football pitch.

The club provides people across all ages, genders and ability the opportunity to participate in grassroots football. Success is not just measured by winning but by how many teams and players they are able to give the opportunity to participate in sport. The new dugouts will allow all members to stay warm and dry, whilst they are on the sideline, not to mention other groups such as the cricket team for example.

"Funding for grassroots sport is difficult at the best of times but in the current climate, it is especially so. Caister F.C. is an ambitious club and to get additional support from GYS&LT is vital to our plans. We are really grateful to everyone at GYSLT that share and believe in our ambitions by the awarding of this grant." Alan Peace Chairman, Caister Football Club.

You can follow their progress on Twitter here.

If you are part of a fantastic team in our borough and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in November 2020.

Martham Village team awarded latest grant to support new security measures

As we head into August we are delighted to announce our latest funding to Martham village football club.  

A local village football club offering sport/activity for all ages, they have many youth sides for boys and girls in the community and 4 adult teams (including 2 veteran teams). They really are using football to bring together people in the community.

Sadly they have recently endured some issues with security and inappropriate use of the dugouts. This grant will go towards securing the playing ground and making those desperately needed security improvements. We can’t wait to see the team playing again! You can follow their progress on Twitter.

If you are part of a fantastic team in our borough and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in September 2020.

Newly Formed Youth Group: Hopton Harriers Receive our Latest Grant

Our latest funding is going to the all new, youth football club: The Hopton Harriers FC. With a huge 61 players and 10 coaches, we know this grant is going towards amazing things.

The grant is to enable them to be fully equipped for the start of the new football season and will go towards the purchase of new goals and equipment, giving them a great foundation to start up this new club. The equipment includes items such as: goals, balls, bibs cones, agility poles and more! Furthermore, the money will enable them to provide football to the local village and items of equipment would be used on a Saturday by the Harriers Footy Fun Club as well as the 5 playing teams several times a week.

"We, as a newly formed youth football club, Hopton Harriers FC, are bringing youth football back to the village after a 12 plus year absence. We will make use of the local playing field maintained by GYBC and run by Hopton Parish Council. We will be bringing football as well as Harriers footy fun club on Saturday mornings to the area once safe to do so. This will be encouraging local children from various backgrounds to take part in our club and doing exercise regularly and build up new Skills, abilities and form new friendships outside of school. We will be running 5 teams for the new season who will be playing in the Norfolk and Suffolk Youth League each Sunday,” says Rob Smith, Secretary and Treasurer of Hopton Harriers FC.

You can follow the team’s progress on Instagram here

If you are part of a fantastic team in our borough and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in September 2020.

Great Yarmouth Girls Football

With the success of England’s The Lionesses, we are seeing huge leaps and bounds in female football. We are therefore incredibly excited to announce that our latest approved funding will be going to Yarmouth Football Club, a new girls football club to promote the women’s and girl’s game; increasing opportunities for younger girls to get active in the Great Yarmouth area. With weekly training and participation in a competitive league they are a very exciting endeavour we look forward to supporting.

Despite being relatively new they already have 14 players signed up and 5 committed committee members!

The funding will allow the club to purchase new training equipment for their weekly training sessions. Fundamentally, this will not only support the needs of the start up but boost the quality of training the girls undertake. The planned purchase list includes cones, bibs, balls and a new training software called ‘dribble up’, which is a fun and interactive way of developing ball skills!

“Having the money to invest in training facilities allows us to attract more local young people as we can provide high quality football coaching that is engaging and specific to their needs. With the equipment that we intend to buy, we will be able to run activities involving more people as we will have more balls or more cones to mark out a larger number of work zones. It also gives our members a sense of pride in their club as we will be able to provide facilities that other clubs offer.

Lastly, it will allow us to continue to grow our coaching team as we can offer the tools most coaches look for when joining a club. This in turn will help us to achieve a club development plan and continue to strengthen the quality of coaching that we offer at our club,” said Glen Joyce, Chairman.

We can’t wait to see what these girls achieve, and we are so excited that our funding will have such an impact on their club, giving them stepping-stone needed to continue developing and to maintain maximum engagement with their members who are all aged 9-12 years of age.

If you are part of an amazing sports team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, then we are taking applications for awarding in February 2020.

Stock image: Pexels

Grant Provides Football kits for Southtown Primary School

New Football kits for Southtown Primary School

We are pleased to share one of our latest grant recipients, Southtown primary school. A primary school with 220 pupils in need of funding for football kit.

They applied successfully for funding from Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust to go towards new football kit for children in all sizes and for all years.

By applying for funding, the school would be able to provide enough kit in various sizes to fit all year groups.

We know from many of our grant applications (and wider research) the importance of kit bringing a team together to create equality on the playing field. It negates the need for labels and unifies the team, hopefully bringing more fun, more drive and more community in their sports endeavours.

Importantly the kits would promote self-esteem, confidence and social skills. Not only this but in their application, they also noted the fundamental importance of the kit allowing the school and pupils to have more participation in competitions and inter-school events, opening the opportunity to all age ranges; meaning the fund will benefit other people in the community, as it gives all children a chance to play.

Nuno in Year 4 said: “We feel proud to represent our school in our new kits.  We all looked smart and it made us play better!” and Oliver in Year 6 said “It makes a difference when we are all dressed the same and I really like having numbers on our backs like professional players.” GOOD LUCK SOUTHTOWN PRIMARY SCHOOL FOOTBALLERS! 

You can follow Southtown’s sporting endeavours via their website southtownprimaryschool.com and Twitter @southtownschool

IF YOUR CLUB OR GROUP IS IN THE BOROUGH OF GREAT YARMOUTH AND NEEDS SEED FUNDING, PLEASE ENQUIRE ABOUT FUNDING FOR KIT, EQUIPMENT OR OTHER COSTS, WE MAY BE ABLE TO HELP.

Hopton CE Primary School on the Path to Team Spirit!

Hopton CE Primary School PTA work hard throughout the year to raise vital funds for their school. The children were playing football matches in their PE kit, and it was felt that funding for proper kit would encourage those who don't participate in sport to do so outside of school hours. Some families can't commit to rigid training and games being held at the weekends. These children would have the opportunity of belonging to a school team, and the proper kits would help achieve this.

Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust approved the application, and the team are already playing in their new kit! Mr Petersen from the school said:

"The difference a football kit can make...

This year Hopton CE Primary Academy decided to enter the local Y6 football league to give our children more opportunities to work as a team and to compete against other local schools. We wanted to expand our sports provision and give children a chance to shine in an environment outside of the classroom.

Competing in our first game, we turned up in our PE kit, some of which was school branded, some of which was not. When seeing that our opponents all had a team kit, it was visibly clear that the children already felt defeated. Having a football kit with the school badge would give the children an identity and make them proud to represent our school. It will bring them closer together and level the playing field before the game.

Since having the football kits, the 'buzz' around football games is palpable with children so keen to know which number they are going to have and where they are going to play. The children look so smart, and it has made a difference in their confidence and sense of belonging." Mr Petersend, Year 6 Teacher, Hopton Primary School.

If your club or group is in the borough of Great Yarmouth and needs seed funding, please enquire about funding for kit, equipment or other costs, we may be able to help.

New kit for Shrublands Under 14s Reds

Look closer and you can see the Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust logo on this brilliant team of under 14s at the Shrublands Football Club in Gorleston. “Fantastic investment into our club meaning we can replace old kit with new, we can't thank you enough” said the clubs spokesperson.

We are unbelievably proud to see this photo - if you’re a club needing a bit of extra help, please get in touch!

Shrublands Junior Football Club awarded £500 funds

This is Bea and Lissy after an Under 10s game in February, from Shrublands JFC instagram account

Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust are delighted to announce the first recipient of funding, Shrublands Junior Football Club!

They are a Gorleston youth football club with 200+ members including one of a few girls teams in the area. They attract age groups of 3-16 and are very much a community club.

Facing broken or ageing equipment and kits, they reached out and applied for funds towards new sports equipment including goals, cones, bibs, and balls, new kit, and trophies for younger members of the club.

Kirk Towers from the club said “Fantastic investment into our club means we can replace old kit with new, we can’t thank you enough”. Our vision is that community run sports and recreational projects should benefit from grass root funding, and this club is INCREDIBLE.

To follow the progress of Shrublands Junior Football Club, please follow them on Facebook Twitter Instagram Website

We are accepting applications now from projects and individuals in the borough of Great Yarmouth, to review and award in February, please download your application form here!

FA says only one in three pitches at grassroots level adequate

The FA is considering selling Wembley Stadium to release funds to support community football, which we think is a great idea. But how is your pitch looking? Did you know we can help football teams in the borough of Great Yarmouth with seed funding of up to £500?

There are 21,000 grassroots clubs, 50 county FAs, 25,000 schools and 330 local authorities which are catered for by the FA and, along with the finding that only one in three grassroots pitches are of adequate quality, the FA's written evidence also highlights:

• 150,000 matches were called off last season due to poor facilities
• One in six matches are called off due to poor pitch quality
• 33 of 50 county FAs are without their own 3G pitch
• Cancelled matches account for the equivalent of 5,000,000 playing opportunities lost this year because of poor facilities
• There are half the number of 3G pitches in England than there are in Germany

"The word for grassroots football is 'crisis,'" said Kenny Saunders, who runs pressure group Save Grassroots Football. Read more about how the FA support grass roots football here

WE MAKE AWARDS OF UP TO £500 TO SUPPORT SPORT AND LEISURE COMMUNITY PROJECTS TO GET MORE PEOPLE ACTIVE IN THE BOROUGH OF GREAT YARMOUTH. CAN YOU HELP? THE APPLICATION FORM IS HERE!