Fans can now vote for which non-League club you would like to receive a £100,000 ‘Super Grant’ from FA Cup sponsor Budweiser.
The eight clubs in contention for the bumper windfall have already received £50,000 from Budweiser’s Club Futures programme. They are:
- Basford United
- Bedfont Sports
- Bromsgrove Sporting
- East Grinstead Town
- Handsworth Junior Sporting Club
- Linton Granta
- Parley Sports
- Wythenshawe AFC
And you can have your say on who you believe should receive the £100,000 grant by visiting the dedicated Budweiser Club Futures page on Facebook. The poll closes on 28 February.
Budweiser has now injected £1m directly into non-League football through the Club Futures programme over the past two seasons, as part of its FA Cup sponsorship.
The ambition has been to help clubs to help themselves, with the grant recipients using the funding to improve their facilities and make their club more financially sustainable.
These funds help the clubs secure their place at the heart of communities, in turn helping to ensure the future of the beautiful game at the grassroots level across the UK.
Budweiser Club Futures is also supported by the Football Foundation, who help choose the grant recipients each season, and The FA Facilities and Investment team, who provide advice and guidance to the non-League clubs applying.
Budweiser Club Futures ambassador Alan Pardew said: "Eight clubs have already received a significant amount of money at the £50,000 stage, but the £100,000 Super Grant injection will be like a huge lottery win for one club.
"I’d encourage all football fans to cast their vote for the Super Grant winner to help change the future of clubs.
"Being involved with this programme for the last two seasons has evoked some great memories. Having started my career in the non-League, I’ve said all along I appreciate just how hard it is to sustain a local club, which is why the Budweiser Club Futures programme is so important. It’s been fantastic to see the difference the funding has made to all the recipients."
Budweiser Senior Brand Manager Christian Flouch added: "Non-League clubs are really important to the future of the beautiful game and to local communities.
"We’ve started seeing some great results following improvements made by the clubs from season one, so look forward to similar results this season and wish all clubs luck in the Facebook vote."
All clubs across Steps 5-7 have received ‘Running a Sustainable Club’, a guidance booklet to help them become more sustainable. Clubs wishing to receive a free copy can e-mail FacilitiesInfo@TheFA.com.
To watch a video from each club to help you decide who you should vote for visit www.facebook.com/budweiseruk or www.facebook.com/thefacup
