Chris Heaton-Harris, MP for Daventry, was in Crick recently (Friday 9 October 2015), to present a £201,123 cheque from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund to Crick Parish Council and Crick Athletic Football Club.
The money will go towards the construction of a new £399,505 changing room pavilion, meaning the club will no longer have to use the rundown Portacabin which they currently call ‘home.’ When complete the new building will complement the real grass pitches and car park built back in 2012, thanks to a £130,750 Premier League & The FA Facilities grant.
Crick AFC has 14 teams from Under-7 to Under-18s, a girls’ team, two adult teams and an Under-6 development squad. As part of the application process, the Football Foundation worked with the club to produce an extensive five-year Football Development Plan that will ensure a substantial increase in participation, with teams playing at Crick set to jump from 14 teams to 20 within five years.
Crick AFC and Crick Parish Council worked in partnership with the Northamptonshire FA to secure a £201,123 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund.
The Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund is funded by the Premier League, The FA, and the Government, via Sport England. It is delivered by the Football Foundation, the country’s largest sports charity. Since it was launched in 2000, the Foundation has awarded around 13,000 grants worth more than £530m towards improving grassroots sport, which it has used to attract additional partnership funding of over £740m – over £1.3bn of investment into the grassroots game.
Since 2000 the Football Foundation Funding Partners’ investment has provided 175 grants worth £7.5m towards grassroots sports projects worth over £15m across the whole of Northamptonshire. In the constituency of Daventry alone, the Foundation has awarded grants worth £1.5m towards grassroots sports projects worth £2m.
Chris Heaton-Harris, MP for Daventry, said: "It’s great to see this funding injection from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund into my constituency. Sport plays a key role in promoting health and well-being for people of all ages, and this grant will certainly help to promote participation in the game.
"I am pleased to see money coming from the top level of the football pyramid to Crick Athletic Football Club, and I look forward to seeing the club go from strength to strength once the pavilion is complete."
Paul Lane, Chairman, Crick AFC Seniors, said: "Crick Athletic FC has benefited from the support of the Football Foundation in the last four years to help fund new football pitches and more recently new changing rooms that are currently under construction.
"This support from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, through the Football Foundation and Northamptonshire FA, has enabled Crick AFC to grow significantly, increasing its number of junior players by at least 40% to 12 junior teams while at the same time introducing and developing girls football.
"The facilities have helped the club maintain two senior teams and recently added Walking Football."
Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: "The Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund grants have been of great value to a multitude of grassroots clubs looking to improve their facilities and encourage participation in sport.
"Congratulations to Crick Parish Council and Crick AFC for working with the Northamptonshire County FA to secure a £201,123 Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund grant.
"It is also great to see local MP Chris Heaton-Harris supporting the growth of the grassroots game across Daventry and was delighted to see him hand over the cheque to Crick AFC on behalf of the Foundation."