£4m for grass roots football projects

The Football Foundation has awarded £4m to grass roots and community football projects across the country.

In total, 19 clubs and organisations will benefit from the money, including the London Playing Fields Society, which is dedicated to saving the capital's open spaces from commercial development. Their £600,000 cash boost will help fund a women's football development officer and to continue their Nation's Football Festival programme.

The National Association for the Care and Rehabilitation of Offenders (NACRO) also benefits with more than £300,000 to provide football training for young people from offending or exclusion from school in an attempt to reduce crime in Leeds and Newcastle.

The Foundation, which is funded by the Football Association, Sport England and the government, has a £53m budget dedicated to revitalising the grass roots of the game and developing football as a force of social cohesion. 'The Foundation is using the game for good causes throughout the society,' said chief executive, Peter Lee. 'Football has grown to be much more than just 90 minutes of enjoyment on a Saturday afternoon.'