Pitch perfect grants for Island football clubs

Pitch perfect grants for Island football clubs

A total of 12 grants have been awarded to clubs and associations in Jersey for the improvement of pitches and training areas – enough to benefit 130 teams of all ages registered through the JFA Combination.

The Foundation’s Pitch Preparation Fund was set up to support clubs around the country who have lost out on normal revenue streams as a result of Covid-19 and help them to get their pitches ready for a return to action, when government advice allows.

St Clement are among the clubs on the list to receive financial backing through the scheme – a point that has been well received following extensive flooding in the 2019/20 season. The Premiership outfit applied for the maximum £1,500 for their main pitch, plus £1,000 for their smaller ‘minis’ pitch.

Grouville FC and Sporting Academics FC have also had their grant requests accepted for Le Boulivot and the IJB, respectively.

St Clement vice president Peter Gully said: ‘As a result of the bad weather at the beginning of 2020 and then the lockdown, we had not been able to mow our football pitches. We had to call in outside contractors to cut the grass to a level whereby our tractor could cope again. The grass had grown extremely high by usual standards and a lot of time and machinery were involved in returning the grass to the level where we could maintain the cutting.’

Funding for Island clubs comes four years after Government of Jersey backing for pitch maintenance was withdrawn. In 2018, a former groundsman likened one local football pitch to a ‘war zone’, following extensive damage by birds which could not be remedied by volunteers.

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