The youth game is thriving, there are 64,000 mini-soccer and youth football teams with a seven per cent year-on-year increase in team numbers.
We want the first experience of football for all those children to be the best it can be so they can enjoy and learn their football in a safe and fun environment and also improve the standard of football being played.
So we are investing to ensure every one of those teams has an FA Level One qualified coach with funds available for clubs to get their volunteers onto the coaching pathway and improve the standards of their mini-soccer and youth offering.
And on top of that, we will invest in 150 new community development club hubs, each with a UEFA B coach mentor.
The largest community clubs are the most sustainable and deliver the most development outcomes in terms of the number and diversity of the teams they run.
For the first time, clubs will be invited to put themselves forward to enter the programme which will offer a range of support from business capacity building and direct facility investment.
Each club hub will be supported to recruit or retain a UEFA B coach to not only work across its own teams, but act as a coach mentor across grassroots clubs in its region.
Watch the video below to see how a coach mentor in Birmingham is helping to make a better environment for youngsters there.
