Lincolnshire FA Announce Return To Football Fund

The Return To Football Fund marks the County FA’s new strategy for reinvestment in the local game, to help retain & develop new Male 11v11 clubs

As part of a commitment to supporting football within the county, Lincolnshire FA is reinvesting back into the game. One of the focus areas is traditional Male football. An investment fund has been launched, aimed at supporting the retention of existing and the development of new adult male teams.

The scheme provides grants of £150 to clubs with male teams to support meeting essential start-up costs such affiliation, insurance, league entry fees, pitch hire, training venues and new kit and equipment costs.

This fund is to support the retention of current adult male teams but also to encourage the sustainable development towards further seasons such as gaining the accreditation status if they haven’t already.

£150 available to all eligible clubs;

- For accredited clubs this can be paid in full upon completion of affiliation
- For non-accredited clubs £100 will be paid upon completion of affiliation and upon accredited status confirmation the additional £50 can be paid

Application Eligibility Criteria –

Clubs must have a minimum of 1x and a maximum of 3x adult men’s team playing 11v11 football in a competitive league structure.
Clubs must be affiliated to Lincolnshire Football Association for 2024/25 season.
Clubs must hold minimum of 1* England Accredited Status or commit to becoming England Accredited across the course of the 2024/25 season.
No teams within the club have received a sanction for reaching the threshold for Respect 10 during 2023/24 season. (Grassroots Discipline Guide 2023-24 (calameo.com) - See page 32 for further information)
If oversubscribed with applications, preference will be given to clubs in existence for 3+ seasons.
Application window closes on 31^st August

Eligible Spend Criteria –

Affiliation Costs - Retrospective
Insurance Costs - Retrospective
Competition Entry - Retrospective
Training / Match Day Facility Hire or items that improve matchday experience [respect barriers]
Kit & Equipment Costs
Contribution towards meeting safeguarding requirements [DBS]
Contribution towards obtaining England Accredited status [1^st Aid, I2CF]

This funding can be spent where the clubs see fit in order to support its development such as Training / Match Day Facility Hire or items that improve matchday experience [respect barriers] or Kit & Equipment Costs. Alternatively, this may be used to cover the already paid for affiliation instead this is completely down to where the club feels this will support best.

Please complete the following survey providing detail around your club and its teams for the upcoming season along with details as to why you believe this fund would support your club explaining how it would do so.

Complete the application form here

This fund will be open from today until the 31st August for clubs to apply for. Clubs can apply before or after their affiliation has been completed but all funding will be paid post affiliation to ensure the criteria has been met.

Please see the attached document for the full detail surrounding the funding. If you have any questions about any of the information listed please contact Luke.Craggs@lincolnshirefa.com or Jake.Park@lincolnshirefa.com.

Luke Craggs, Football Development Officer (Male Pathway) at Lincolnshire FA, said: “As we head into our new strategy cycle as an organisation, we are really pleased to be able to support the male open age 11v11 game by retaining and developing current clubs but also helping the growth of new teams. This fund is one of a number we have planned as an organisation, further demonstrating our commitment to supporting the grassroots game across Lincolnshire.”

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