Overview
We often overlook the importance of charity work for grassroots football and society and this is largely due to the might of football at the highest levels of the English game. Because not only do grassroots clubs have to compete against the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool for attention, they must also contend with other factors.
Factors that can be as difficult as the winter weather and every year a cold and wet snap of is never too far away and although plenty of players want to take to the field across the festive season and beyond, sometimes meteorological factors have a habit of standing in their way.
Not only does this have players kicking their heels but it is also puts a strain on the finances of clubs up and down the country and especially that find themselves sitting lower down the English football pyramid.
Because unlike those clubs in the Premier League, those who operate at grassroots level really do have to count every penny that comes through the turnstiles and if the turnstiles are not open, this is when those same semi-professional outfits start to feel the pinch – one of the many grassroots football challenges that they must deal with.
Grassroots Football Challenges
A pinch that comes from still have expenses going out, even when there is nothing in the way of gate receipts or bar revenue coming in. A financial conundrum that is easy to solve but sometimes difficult to master.
Not only because of the day to day running of grassroots football clubs at a senior level but also the number of junior teams that are connected with the establishment. If there are financial woes at the top level, the same will eventually be said at the bottom.
Whether it be Under 8s, Under 18s or anything in between, the operation of these age groups is just as vital to any local community and although they cannot directly assist in the finances of their senior team, there is another way they can chip in.
They say that charity begins at home and this is certainly true when it comes to the beautiful game. Because not only is it important for clubs at junior levels to raise funds to operate but also to help the wider community.
Importance of Football in the Local Community
The stronger a community, the better it will be for those involved and at the heart of any strong community is a fully functioning football club. Therefore, any funds that can be raised for the club can also be raised for the community as a whole and this will go some way to help sustaining grassroots football.
In a sense it is a cycle of positivity and one that is so important to keep maintained. Should the opposite happen and the local community becomes weaker, a sense of overall pride is suddenly lost in the area.
No pride and no desire to make things better, a dangerous trap to be in and one that many communities and by extension grassroots football clubs have fallen into. Thankfully, this does not always have to be case.
Charity Begins At Your Home Ground
Because a charity fundraiser can be the be the glue that reattaches the fabric of the local community and with football serving as the beating heart for so many, it is a populist tool to get people parting with their money.
With the love of the beautiful game being in abundance for so many people, holding events such as a club raffle or auction night are often deemed popular by those who are looking to give something back to the community.
For as much as football clubs would love to run as charities themselves, the cold hard reality is that they are businesses themselves and although relegation on the field of play is seen as a disaster, bankruptcy off the field is even worse.
Invest in the grassroots and those grassroots will only grow further over the years. Repeat this cycle and those grassroots will grow into something far greater and this is why ongoing charity work must be seen as the lifeblood of any community.
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