MENU SEARCH Football Foundation Logo GRASS PITCH MAINTENANCE FUND A NEW FUND PROVIDING SIX-YEAR TAPERED GRANTS TO HELP CLUBS ENHANCE OR SUSTAIN THE QUALITY OF THEIR GRASS PITCHES Are we eligible? 01 Who is eligible? All applicants must have the required security of tenure and have received a PitchPower Pitch Assessment Report Grassroots clubs Leagues Charities (with an annual turnover of less than £500k) National League System Clubs Step 1-6 (only for pitches at the site that are used for community football)* *See FAQs for more details Who is not eligible? Clubs, leagues or organisations without suitable security of tenure (details below) Clubs, leagues or organisations without a PitchPower Pitch Assessment Report Charities with an annual turnover of £500k or more Local Authorities An individual or sole trader A commercial/for-profit entity Security of tenure To be eligible for this fund you need to own the freehold, have an uninterruptible lease of 10 years, have a licence for 10 years or have the written consent of the landowner. Further info can be found in the FAQs. About the fund 02 The Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund is a £14m fund that provides eligible clubs and leagues with a tapered six-year grant to help them sustain pitches already at a 'good' level and enhance pitches that are either considered 'poor' or 'basic'. The fund is a key part of the Football Foundation's Grass Pitch Improvement Programme - an ambition to deliver 20,000 quality grass pitches by 2030. How much can we apply for? Funding falls into two categories - enhance or sustain. Your PitchPower pitch inspection (a requirement of the grant) will provide you with a Performace Quality Standard (PQS) per pitch - which will help us decide how much funding you'll be eligible for - and a list of maintenance recommendations which you'll need to carry out as part of your grant award. Grants are paid annually for six years but tapered down during that time. The amounts below show the grant values for the first year at 100% funding. Enhance For pitches with a Performance Quality Standard (PQS) of 'basic' or below Pitch size Grant value (per pitch) 11 v 11 £2,500 per pitch 9 v 9 £2,000 per pitch Mini soccer £1,500 per pitch Sustain For pitches with a PQS of 'good' or higher Pitch size Grant value (per pitch) 11 v 11 £750 9 v 9 £500 Mini soccer £300 What can the grant be spent on? The funding provided must be used to carry out the recommendations from your PitchPower Assessment Report. These can include: Contractor works e.g. slitting, scarification or decompaction Purchasing materials e.g. seed or fertiliser Purchasing equipment e.g. Soil Sampler Routine maintenance work such as grass cutting and line marking aren't eligible. What do you mean by a 'tapered' grant? Tapered means that we'll pay a reduced percentage of the initial grant value every two years with the club making up the difference. For example, the grant awarded for an 11v11 pitch that needs enhancing would be £2,500 in year 1 and 2, £1,667 in year 3 and 4 and £833 in year 5 and 6. More details can be found in the FAQs. PitchPower Before you apply... PitchPower is the tool that will allow clubs and organisations like yours to complete pitch inspections and access funds like this directly from your mobile phone. If you haven't signed up and completed a PitchPower pitch inspection, you'll need to do this for each of the pitches you want funding for, before you can apply for the Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund. LEARN MORE Webinars To help you apply... Our grass pitch webinars feature more information about the Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund, advice on how to use the PitchPower app and some expert tips from the Grounds Management Association on how to keep your pitches in top condition following the season extension. You can watch them on our YouTube channel by clicking the link below. WATCH NOW How do we apply? 03 Ready to get started on your application? Click the 'apply now' button to log in to your Football Foundation account and then select 'Football Foundation funding' from the grants available window. Remember, you won't be able to apply until you've completed a pitch inspection using our PitchPower app. If you have any other questions, please first refer to our FAQ section below and if your question still hasn’t been answered, contact us. APPLY NOW FAQs 04 I need help... My Grant Eligibility/Application Process The Fund Other Support BACK TO TOP Join our mailing list Want to keep up-to-date with all our latest funding opportunities, facility openings, jobs and exclusive interviews? You know what to do. Enter your email address SUBSCRIBE Stadium Improvement Sometimes even the beautiful game needs a makeover. The Premier League funded Football Stadia Improvement Fund invests in projects that improve facilities at lower league football stadia in the country. VISIT FSIF HUB 3G Pitch Register Looking for information on a 3G pitch? We have a full database of 3G pitches registered this season from across England. Find key information such as pitch size, facilities and classification status. VIEW REGISTER CAREERS CONTACT US FOLLOW US Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Privacy Statement Cookie Policy Governance Disclaimer Accessibility Modern Slavery Statement Back to top Copyright 2021 © Registered charity number 1079309 We use cookies to ensure we give you the best experience across our website. To allow us to do this, we'd like you to accept to the use of our cookies. NO THANKS YES, ALLOW COOKIES