£1,500 awarded to The Cumberland Ability Counts League to grow grassroots football participation in Cumberland 

Football in Cumberland received a boost as The Cumberland Ability Counts League was awarded a £1,500 grant by the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation.

The £1,500  grant, part of the Foundation’s Return to Football Fund, is helping The Cumberland ACL to restart following the lifting of government restrictions on grassroots football. The grant was made possible thanks to funding from The FA and Sport England through the Football Foundation. 

This money will be used for to support all the member clubs to return to football, as well as encourage and support any new sessions or teams.

Ray Sempill Cumberland FA, said:“The Return to Football Fund grant has helped us to get back up and running. We also hope to encourage clubs to create some inclusive sessions in their area and potentially create new teams”

Robert Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: “This grant award to The Cumberland ACL towards Transport, Facility and Equipment cost is vital for the local community in Cumberland as they get back to playing football. Our Return to Football fund is supporting clubs across the country, helping them to kick-start our national game again locally and try to recover from the effects of COVID-19. ”

“This is part of our wider ambition to transform our grassroots game and unlock the power of pitches, something we hope to get back to in full force as restrictions are lifted.”

The £2.1M Return to Football Fund is directly targeted at groups of people whose participation has been affected most by COVID-19, offering Clubs up to £2,500 each. 

The grant comes as part of an investment of more than £16m that has been made available to help clubs prepare for the restart of grassroots football following the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, the Foundation declared “Game on” and announced three funds to get football’s 12 million grassroots players back on the pitch.

The Football Foundation is the UK’s largest sports charity and exists to improve the experience of playing football for everyone, by championing fair access to quality facilities.

Check out some highlights from the Cumberland Ability Counts League

For more details about the Cumberland Ability Counts League please contact Ray Sempill on 01900 511800 or email Ray.Sempill@CumberlandFA.com