Council leaders are calling for a share of TV profits to be invested into grassroots football to help turnaround ‘pitiful’ investment levels.
The Local Government Association (LGA) says more of the profits made from TV should be pumped into maintaining local pitches and boosting participation levels. It warns that local pitches are almost always owned by local councils, but the 40% cut in funding is having an impact on the quality of facilities.
Cllr Ian Stephens, chair of the LGA's Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, said: ‘There is an ever-widening chasm between the grassroots game, which is being allowed to wither away by the football authorities through pitiful investment, and elite football.
‘Sadly, as every fan knows, the current England team has been underperforming for decades. Next year will mark half a century since England last won the World Cup. This decline of a sporting powerhouse will continue unless the football authorities start giving grassroots football the funding it so desperately deserves and needs. This is the only way to ensure home-grown talent rises through the footballing ranks.’
The LGA said if the money invested in local pitches was increased and administered by local councils, it could help councils build upon grassroots initiatives.
