Two hundred and sixty million pounds.
The Football Association announced that they are increasing their investment in grassroots football from £200million over four years to £260million over four years. This is in addition to the creation of 30 football hubs across the country which will cost further multiples of millions. In 2014 the FA declared that £230 would be spent on these football hubs creating a greater number of 3G pitches and centres available for coach education. The combined investment amounts to £490million.
This is undoubtedly a huge amount of money. While the Premier League is awash with television money grassroots football clubs have to go cap in hand for funding. So how will the FA money be used?
Boosting Participation –
Delivering more varied formats of the game to address the drop in 11v11 participation.
Developing Better Players –
Each year £4million (£2million from the government) will be invested in developing grassroots coaches.
A network of County Coaches to support grassroots coaches through mentoring programmes.
The extension of coach bursaries to get more women and people from diverse backgrounds into the game.
Better Training and Facilities –
The FA is committing £48million to new turf pitches through the Football Foundation.
Football Workforce –
Players need quality coaching far more than quality facilities. In his book the Talent Code Daniel Coyle visited world renowned talent developers. Many of the hotbeds of talent development do not rely on stunning facilities. The great Jamaican sprinting team operate out of little more than a hut. The heartland for the influx of female Russian tennis players was no better than average. The difference between world class and very good was not found in the bricks and mortar but in the calibre of the educators.
Lowering the cost of the courses will help ensure coaches can afford the education that their players need. However, there is another side to coach education, which is the educators themselves.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who watches the watchmen? How about, who coaches the coaches?
Who are they? What are their credentials? I have had some excellent and engaging tutors on FA courses. I have also had other tutors who have sat somewhere below that standard. Some I know what their body of work comprised before working with the FA. Others I never found that out. The FA need to ensure that they have the best possible people coaching the coaches. The position of FA tutor needs to be attractive enough that top quality coaches will choose to educate rather than coach at club level. It is arguable that the best coach in the country should be working in coach education, not working at a football club. Spend some of the £260 million on quality tuition. If the best youth systems are Dutch, Spanish and German why not employ one of their coach educators? Feyenoord have received the award for the best academy in the Netherlands five years in a row. How much would it cost to bring across one of the academy directors from that period?
Similarly the County mentors need to be of a high calibre. More mentors are certainly required and spending a portion of the millions on more mentors would be wise. Many coaches are left to their own devices after courses with little assistance. Someone to talk to is always appreciated. The someone has to have sufficient knowledge levels and an understanding of what happens at grassroots level. Coaches need a sympathetic ear to help raise their game.
Getting the right people in the right place is a better investment than a few more pitches.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/11155027/Football-Association-and-Greg-Dyke-launch-230m-3G-revolution-in-grass-roots-facilities-and-coaching.html