Entain, the global sports betting and gaming operator which owns Ladbrokes and Coral in the UK, has today reinforced its support of non-league football by committing a further £150,000 to the Trident Community Foundation (“TCF”) for community projects run by clubs in the three Trident Leagues (The Pitching In Isthmian, Pitching In Northern Premier and Pitching In Southern Leagues).
This additional funding of the TCF is on top of Entain’s headline partnership with the Trident Leagues through the Entain Foundation’s Pitching In programme – a multi-million-pound grassroots and non-elite sport investment fund – and brings its total contribution to the Trident Leagues to over £1 million.
Entain’s headline partnership with the Trident Leagues launched in the 2020-21 season, with the aim of providing much-needed financial support to non-league football, following the financial pressures caused by the pandemic.
Entain became a founding partner of the TCF in December 2020, making an initial £150,000 donation. The Entain Foundation’s vision is to create a strong sustainable community programme that will help clubs develop young talent, promote non-league football to a wider audience and attract volunteers.
In the 2020-21 season, the TCF made grants to 27 clubs to run projects including coaching in the community, the expansion of girls’ football, health and wellbeing for 5–16-year-olds, and the development of community football infrastructure.
The TCF fund operates via a grant application process for the 245 football clubs in this season’s Pitching In Isthmian League, The Pitching In Northern Premier League and The Pitching In Southern League. Its guiding objective is to support, develop and improve the delivery of community programmes at the football clubs and help fund small and medium-sized projects.
Pitching In ambassador Stuart Pearce, former England captain and manager of Team GB’s men’s football team at the 2012 Olympics, who knows all about the value of the non-league community from his early days playing at Wealdstone, said: “The new “Pitching In” investment couldn’t come at a more challenging time for the grassroots football community.
“Non-league football clubs faced unprecedented effects on their finances from the Covid-19 pandemic and many clubs continue to struggle to stay afloat. Entain committing to further funding of non-league teams will make a big difference to hundreds of clubs, thousands of players and hundreds of thousands of fans across the country.
“The Trident Community Foundation demonstrates the true meaning of Pitching In and strengthens existing bonds within communities across the country. I look forward to seeing non-league clubs thrive so that the future generation of football fans can experience and enjoy the game at grassroots level.”
In a joint statement, the three leagues – Nick Robinson (chairman, Isthmian), Mark Harris (chairman, Northern Premier) and Anthony Hughes (vice chairman, Southern League) said today: “The Trident Leagues are delighted with today’s announcement of the next round of funding from the Trident Community Foundation. This latest phase of Entain’s Pitching In grassroots and non-elite sports investment programme is critical for the future of non-league football. Our clubs are at the heart of their local communities and this funding will provide them with the means to strengthen those links.”
For more details see: https://entaingroup.com/sustainability/pitching-in/
