Facilities have been prioritised by The FA and we at Bedfordshire FA are making every effort to improve the facilities around the county and striving to achieve excellence in all that we do.

We can provide guidance and advice on the funding opportunities available and benefit our affiliated clubs and facility providers.

The most accessible funding source is the Football Foundation who fund large numbers of projects every year and have a great reputation of providing funding and supporting projects, both new build and improvement works.

The Football Foundation operates a number of funds which can be found by following the link provided: Footballfoundation.org.uk

If you are intending to improve your football facilities (which may involve 3G football turf pitches, changing room pavilions / clubhouses,  grass pitch improvements or better indoor / outdoor spaces) please contact James Petty on 07432702697 or via email at James.Petty@BedfordshireFA.com so that he can provide advice and guidance. 

Following this, you may be asked to complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) form which can be found here 

Please note if you have already started work on your project (for example, building/construction has already begun), then it is unlikely that your project will be eligible for funding.

If you would like to find out how you could improve your grass pitches, please CLICK HERE for more information:

For more information on the Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund please CLICK HERE

Bedfordshire FA have worked in partnership with consultants Knight, Kavanagh and Page (KKP) after being selected by The FA to carry out research to provide a 10 year priority plan for facility investment into local football.

The consultation involved football clubs being invited to discuss the plans face to face, over the phone or via online survey in order to firstly establish what facilities already exist and then to inform what realistic developments in line with participation growth could potentially be targeted throughout the duration of the plan. This process has driven a portfolio based future investment that directly targets grass pitches, 3G football turf pitches, changing room pavilions/clubhouses and small sided facilities.

Several key partners formed a steering group including Football Foundation, Central Bedfordshire Council, Bedford Borough Council, Luton Borough Council, Team Beds and Luton, Sport England and Luton Town Community Trust were involved throughout the entire process in order to provide crucial local knowledge and input towards the football participation figures and demands for specific facility developments.

Please find below the documents produced for each of the three local authorities in Bedfordshire:

Bedford Borough Council

Luton Borough Council

Central Bedfordshire Council

 
Whilst the LFFP’s are not a guarantee of funding or successful applications, the plans will be used to ensure the highest priority areas are targeted in order to deliver the identified projects when investment is available. We expect that 90% of Football Foundation funding will be used to deliver major capital projects.

However, we understand that new projects, opportunities and priorities will always emerge and if your project doesn’t feature currently then don’t panic!  Please contact James Petty to have a discussion about your idea. Whilst we can’t guarantee that we will be able to include it on the LFFP going forward, we will always be open to a discussion to see how we might be able to help.

Bedfordshire FA will continue working with partners and stakeholders to begin this process and strategically target the priority areas over the next 10 years. Each project must still follow an application process if Football Foundation funds are required based on a number of factors that include: partnership funding, deliverability, usage, sustainability, engagement, inclusivity and quality.

Where a project is in a position to proceed and requires Football Foundation funding, a suitable time-frame to submit a grant application will be determined and pre-application support will be provided by Bedfordshire FA and the Football Foundation.

If you require any further information on any of the LFFP’s or facility development then please click on the related pages.

The new Football Foundation Groundskeeping Community app was launched at the FA Groundsman of the Year awards at St George’s Park on Wednesday 14^th August. The site has been developed in partnership with The FA and IOG to support volunteers and qualified groundskeepers to maintain pitches in the following ways:

• build knowledge and understanding on key operations of pitch maintenance throughout the year
• connect with fellow groundskeepers and share experiences (videos, interactive content, Q&A’s, hints and tips and information sharing)
• seek expert advice on getting the most from the pitches groundskeepers manage (Regional Pitch Advisor and other professional ground staff)

The link below will allow people to access the site free of charge and has a welcome message from Karl Standley, Head Groundsman at Wembley Stadium. Once registered, the Hive Learning app for iOS or Android is the easiest way to access the community on the go.

To join the Football Foundation Groundskeeping Community, please CLICK HERE

There are now strict regulations and guidelines that need to be followed for maximum success for a 3G facility.

FA Certified Pitch Register for Bedfordshire

The 3G register is a list of all the 3G pitches in the country that have passed the FIFA 1-Star rating test. This ensures that the facility is safe and operates similar to a grass surface. Once a facility has passed the FIFA 1-Star test it can accommodate affiliated football i.e. any league that is registered with the County FA. (Please note, affiliated football should not be taking place on a 3G pitch that not feature on the above register).

To get your 3G pitch on the register or for more information about 3G’s please contact our Football Development Manager on James.Petty@BedfordshireFA.com.| 01582 565111.

A 3G facility is a costly investment and therefore the correct maintenance is more than justified to ensure a safe playing environment which will in turn improve the longevity of the carpet. Effective and thorough maintenance will extend the life span of the carpet however inevitably the carpet will need to be replaced at some point.

All 3G pitches are now subject to regular testing to certify that the surface is an accurate replica of a grass pitch and that the surface is safe to play on.

As a general guide, every ten hours of usage will require one hour of maintenance. Routine maintenance is usually just sweeping the pitch to level the surface and the infill, however once every six months a specialist contractor should be used to decompacted and repair the facility. Without decompaction, the pitch becomes hard and consequently player injuries become more common and damage occurs quicker.

The Institute of Groundsmanship is currently running training courses on the maintenance of 3G pitches, for more information visit www.iog.org or contact our Football Development Manager on 01582 565111 or James.Petty@BedfordshireFA.com

• Premier League & FA Facilities Fund
• Football Foundation Small Grants
• Football Foundation Grow the Game
• Sport England Small Grants

• Premier League Stadium Fund (National League System  Step 1 to 6) & Women's Football Pyramid Tier 1 to 4)
  
  Team Beds & Luton County Sports Partnership
• Local Councils / Parish Councils (Bedford Borough / Central Bedfordshire / Luton Borough)
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• Funding 4 Sport