Will Grassroots Football Ever Get A Boost?

So what did we learn about Euro 2016. England were dire, Wales were good, Iceland have the best chant ever but got a little cross at France for alleged plagiarism!

In the midst of it all, there was some football played, although with all the shenanigans going on about Brexit and then England getting knocked out of Europe again, followed by Roy’s resignation, you may have missed some of it!

There are always several issues that pop up when the manager falls on his sword post competitions. Usually it’s “Why didn’t we do better?” “Was it really the manager’s fault?” “Did the players play for the shirt?” and the all-time favourite “What can we do about it, so it doesn’t happen again?”

Now every football fan suddenly becomes an expert at England management when these questions are asked and in my opinion righty so, everyone is entitled to their view and also to express it. Personally I think that the answers are, “Because we believed our own hype again” “Yes, he used the wrong tactics” “No they didn’t appear to want to” and “Oh boy, not this old chestnut again!”

The reason why I get so disgruntled about this last one is that inevitably someone high up in the sporting/political world will utter those immortal words “We must invest in grassroots football!” Yes you are right, we do need to and very much so. I am also a coach at my son (who is 11) football club and we are pretty lucky that we have a very good setup with most of the equipment that we need. However, we have visited some pretty awful grounds to be fair and it can be heart-breaking to see kids struggle and see them play (although they also seem to play with a smile on their faces, which is great) with limited equipment. These are where this investment must be made. We are a pretty big blooming island and we must improve the lowest level and watch the kids flourish; after all they are the next generation of talent.

Of course what I say isn’t new and certainly isn’t rocket science. It has been said a million times before and my voice is just one of many. However, I also believe that it would be wise to spend money on the 5/6/7-a-side facilities that are dotted around our country. Like the kids, we have some great facilities and not so great ones. As a company, we try to help where possible, but we cannot and nor should we be expected to carry the financial burden of maintaining these venues.

I have watched a fair bit of football played at these facilities, along with the League Organisers that frequent the football mundial office and we all agree that there is some phenomenal talent on display. If we could get investiture in, what has been called “the fastest growing sport in the UK” then I am sure that English football would produce a fair amount of new players and maybe we might even see some success at national level somewhere along the line!

Idealistic I hear you cry – yes probably I reply! Will it ever happen? I hope so because I (and these are just my opinions on this page) do believe that 5/6/7-a-side football should be looked after by the footballing powers that be, just as much as our professional game is. After all, from small acorns grow mighty oaks!