FOOTBALL
JUST PLAY
the number of adults playing regular football in England. Just Play hopes to tackle a decline in participation, with a target of getting 150,000 more people taking part in football for at least 30 minutes a week by September 2013. Figures from Sport England suggest
E
that the decline in adult participation is due to the lack of sufficient facili- ties; apathy; and logistical difficulties. Through the new FA/Mars programme, a total of 100 Just Play centres are to be established across England delivering casual football sessions that benefit up to 50 participants at a time. The scheme’s progress will be mea-
sured through Sport England’s Active People Survey on a quarterly basis, and
arlier this year, the FA joined forces with Mars to launch a new initiative designed to increase
forms part of Mars’ continuing efforts to invest in football and to work with the FA. Just Play also forms part of the national governing body’s National Game Strategy. The FA’s head of the national game-
Kelly Simmons says: “The 150,000 figure represents adults whatever their level or ability playing some form of football. The FA Mars Just Play programme will help us tackle the issues that are currently affecting adult grassroots football. “This programme builds on our work
to encourage as many adults as possible to enjoy a wide range of footballing opportunities in their local communi- ties. We believe its success will open up football to a whole new audience, which might have been put off by barriers such as lack of facilities, time or people to play with,” Simmons says.
FA would recommend or certainly build things to the standards that we expect,” explains Pover. “If you’re putting in an ar- tificial pitch and it’s going to be used for football, then you would naturally devel- op a pitch that meets the FA standards.” Pover explains how artificial pitches
has become the first particular aspect of the FA’s spending programme to adopt a framework approach – one carried out in partnership with the Rugby Football Union. “We turned the industry on its head a bit by going down a manufac- turer-led approach,” he says.“Instead of the contractor maybe being in charge
of most of it, or a consultant being in charge of the design and implementa- tion, we’re asking the manufacturer to be responsible for the whole thing – from design through to construction, installation and then maintenance. “We’re working with six artificial pitch
manufacturers – they are what we now consider to be our partners in the de- livery of artificial pitches through the funding that we have available,” he adds. The partners are: TigerTurf; Greenfields; SIS; Limonta; Lano Sports; and FieldTurf/ Tarkett – selected following an OJEU pro- cess and interview/selection criteria.
Moving forward Pover says that the FA is in a fairly robust position with regards to its ability to con- tinue with its work – particularly from an investment side. While its spending may be more modest amid the current eco- nomic climate, Pover explains that there’s still money available. Further more, a funding deal with the government – managed through the Football Founda- tion – has another two years to run. With that continued investment in
facilities, the FA looks on course to con- tinue the progress it has made with the NGS since 2008. “We’re currently de- veloping the targets, but it’s already a certainty that youth development will be even more of a cornerstone in the NGS’s evolution,” says Simmons. In the short term, Nick Levett says that
May’s consultation into the proposed changes at youth football level will help the NGB explain what is being consid- ered, and the rationale behind it. “We rely heavily on volunteers who
“If you don’t have quality pitches, you don’t have a game”
do a fantastic job in youth football, so we need to make sure we have a sensible lead-in period for those changes to hap- pen. Short term, it’s very much about having a debate around youth football. “Everything that we want to do is about
raising standards and I’m yet to find a compelling standard to lower them.” ●
Pete Hayman is a Leisure Media journalist 42 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital Issue 2 2011 © cybertrek 2011
PIC: ©
WWW.SPORTENGLAND.ORG
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84