PRESS RELEASE

Post date: Nov 10, 2013 10:16:23 AM

Handsworth Junior Sporting Club To Receive £50,000 Boost

-Budweiser football grant programme will help

Handsworth fulfill its ambitions- ...

London, 7 November 2013 – Budweiser today announced Handsworth Junior Sporting Club as one of eight recipients of a £50,000 grant as part of its Club Futures programme.

Budweiser Club Futures, which is in its second season, will help non-league side Handsworth Junior Sporting Club, who play in the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Senior Football League, replace their grandstand.

The ambition of Budweiser Club Futures is to help clubs to help themselves, with the grant recipients using their funding to improve their general facilities and make their club more financially sustainable. These funds support the clubs to be at the heart of their communities, helping to ensure the future of the beautiful game at the grassroots level across the UK.

Budweiser Club Futures has also been supported by the Football Foundation, who helped decide the grant recipients, and The FA Facilities and Investment team, who provided advice and guidance to the non-league clubs applying. The programme has now invested a total of £1million directly into 16 non-league football clubs in the UK over the last two seasons.

Handsworth is now in with a chance of winning an additional £100,000 Super Grant which will top up their funding to a total of £150,000 following a vote by football fans on Facebook. The voting opens in January 2014 on the Budweiser UK and FA Cup Facebook pages*.

Bob Hill, Club President and founder of Handsworth Junior Sporting Club, said: "This grant will help us create our vision of providing the best possible football experience for our own players and families and also our opposition. The plans we have in place for the grandstand are now very much a reality thanks to the Budweiser funding and I know the community will reap the benefits once it’s complete.”

Budweiser Club Futures ambassador, Alan Pardew, said: “Having plied my trade in non-league football, I am under no illusions as to the graft and dedication required to sustain a local club.

“As Budweiser Club Futures ambassador for a second season, I have seen first-hand the difference the funding has made to last year’s recipients. Once again, we received some brilliant and inspiring applications. This is great to see as it reinforces the passion that these clubs have to grow and achieve their ambitions.”

“Handsworth’s application was outstanding, and to think they could add a further super grant of £100,000 means that Bob and his staff have an exciting few months ahead.”

Budweiser Senior Brand Manager, Christian Flouch, said: “Non-league clubs are the backbone of the beautiful game in this country, and often of their local communities too. Whether the money goes towards resurrecting clubs on the brink of extinction or fulfilling their dreams of climbing the football pyramid, watching them flourish as a result of Budweiser Club Futures is fantastic. Congratulations to Handsworth and we look forward to seeing the results of the grant award.”

The 2013/14 grant recipients, all in steps 5-7 of the English football pyramid, are:

Bedfont Sports FC – London

East Grinstead Town FC – South East

Parley Sports Club – South West

Bromsgrove Sporting FC – West Midlands

Basford United – East Midlands

Handsworth Junior Sporting Club – North East

Wythenshawe Amateurs FC – North West

Linton Granta FC – East

All clubs that have applied for grants over the two seasons’ have received ‘Running a Sustainable Club’, a guidance booklet to help them become more sustainable.

For more information on The FA Cup with Budweiser and ‘Budweiser Club Futures’ please visit www.TheFA.com/TheFACup