Six community football schemes, which have received combined investment worth £2.47m, have been unveiled in locations across the country in a bid to boost the grassroots game.

The Football Foundation has contributed a total of £1.32m to help fund the projects, with a £513,000 development in Lawford, Essex, among the new facilities to be launched. Sir Trevor Brooking unveiled the John Lyall Pavilion in Lawford, which aims to provide the local community with a wide range of social and sporting activities to participate in.

Elsewhere, Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu has helped unveil Poppleton Community Sports Pavilion near York, which features four team changing rooms and catering space. It is hoped that the new building will offer a 'masthead' for Poppleton Junior Football Club, with the site already including three full-size pitches and six mini-soccer pitches.

Football Foundation chief executive Paul Thorogood said: "It is essential that people from these communities are able to access quality facilities where they can be safe and enjoy quality coaching. "[These] openings are just an example of the thousands of projects across the country that the Football Foundation has supported with money provided by our funding partners - the Premier League, The FA and government."

Image: Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu at the new Poppleton Community Sports Pavilion