If anyone's interested, there's an e-petition around at the moment to force the government to pressure the PL to put more money into grassroots football. Currently around 0.4% of the PL revenue goes on grassroots football, which is bollocks given the PL's new £5.5 billion broadcasting contracts are about to come into force. The petition requires the PL to spend 7.5%. So £400 million over three years would go on grassroots instead of around £22 million at the current rate. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/46134
Although I think they should give more to help develop grassroots I don't think it is something the government should be involved in tbh.
No one else is going to make any difference though unfortunately. Whilst I agree with you in principle I think the authorities at the top of our game are only interested in lining their own pockets and considering the unbelievable amount of cash in the game it is incredible the state of pitches and facilities in many areas of the country. Signed....and confirmed via e-mail Good work Swarbs
No one benefits from the work of grass roots more than the Premier League. No one. They should be putting in far more than 0.4 As for the government, they're cutting everything not adding investment
Siso... absolutely agree... PL should be doing it for their own good... they're shooting themselves in the foot being greedy keeping it at the top and not investing in the bottom. I don't like government involvement in things where they don't belong. If you give them the power and say to tell the pl where to spend money... ... they will start doing that. Growing up, my little town of Northwich had two lower league teams that have been in continual existance for over 100 years each. I doubt they would be alive today if we were looking for the government to run things... They would have redistricted us to Crewe and told us we had to start supporting Crewe now.
The money should be spread much further than the Premier League. I don't just mean grass roots, I mean the lower leagues too. The way things are going the the gap is only going to get bigger between the sides in the top leagues and the rest. There is a gap developing within the Championship with the clubs that have been relegated from the Premier League having a lot more cash than the others due to the parachute payments (PP). This seems to encourage these sides to throw cash at the problem (of being relegated) and its leaving them in a financial mess. Part of me thinks 'more fool them for not implementing better financial planning' but the other part thinks there is something wrong with the system. Especially with the clubs that wouldn't know what to do with the money (Derby, Wolves, Blackburn, Blackpool, etc) if it hit them in the arse!
