Richard Luscombe The Argyle Community Trust has been awarded a £1,000 grant from the Premier League, The FA, and Government’s Football Foundation, to benefit our disability provision for local football players in Plymouth.
Funded by The FA and Sport England using National Lottery funding, the grant comes as part of the Return to Disability Football Fund. The new fund provides grants to support disabled people get back to playing football following the pandemic.
Disabled people and individuals with long-term health conditions have been more adversely affected by the pandemic than the wider population. This has directly impacted disability football participation rates. The new Return to Disability Football Fund was launched to help tackle this challenge.
This grant will enable the Trust, which supports many disability players, to deliver a variation of fun and inclusive football sessions, provide new equipment, coach education courses, training of volunteers, bespoke venues and passionate staff. This will provide much needed extra support for players of all abilities, giving an overall boost to the standard of grassroots football in Plymouth following the pandemic.
Daniel Hart, Argyle Community Trust Community Engagement Manager, said, “We are grateful for the support of The Football Foundation. Their financial backing allows our charity to provide football sessions to those hardest to reach in the communities we serve. Football is for everyone and funds such as this help us to remove barriers to participation, something at the forefront of our visions and values.”
Football Foundation CEO Robert Sullivan commented: “Understandably, we’ve seen a significant drop-off in the number of disabled teams and people playing football during the pandemic. As we emerge into a new phase of living with Covid-19, this is a critical moment for football and promoting physical activity across the nation.
“We know disabled people are keen to get playing again, and it’s really important we help everyone return confidently to playing football. It’s one of the best sports for everyone to get involved in because it offers a range of benefits across physical health, mental wellbeing and social connections. This is why grants like these are more vital now than ever.
“We are delighted that our Partners, the Premier League, The FA, the Government and Sport England, along with the National Lottery, are investing in this fund to ensure football gets going again and grows within our communities.”
