Sholing FC are one example of a grassroots club to benefit from Budweiser's support to grassroots football in England
Looking back at that moment last year when we found out we were receiving £100,000 from Budweiser, it still feels unbelievable.
To get rewarded that amount of money, it’s given us hope that we can progress the club in the future.
We were always a Wessex League team without much of a future beyond that, as it just wouldn’t be sustainable with the facilities that we have.
I’ve been manager here for 19 years now and while I’m still enthusiastic, I admit that before the award came about, I was starting to flag a little bit because it was hard and we were limited with what we could do with the facilities that we had.
So this award was a little bit of an enticement to carry on, manage the club and lead us to success.
There’s now some light at the end of the tunnel and this award has given everyone a boost and some hope of moving through the pyramid if we can improve the facilities and grow the club from within.
Ultimately, it’s all about the community and we want to produce our own home-grown talent and attract better players and we will be able to do that with upgraded facilities.
A new club house is our first priority and we’ve made a start with the Budweiser money and getting plans in place.
We’ve used the first cash from the grant to fund the feasibility studies about that project, which would see better facilities and a new club house.
It’s a long-term project and these things always take time, but the investments made by Budweiser into grassroots football can go a long way.
They’re a terrific bunch of guys and we’re delighted to hear that they’ve extended their commitment even further.
Since 2012, Budweiser has invested over £1.3m directly into English football to date, through initiatives such as the Budweiser Club Futures programme, which makes an annual grant to a grassroots football club competing in the FA Cup.
Their new deal starts in the 2018-19 season and will allow us to make significant investments back into every level of English football and further support grassroots initiatives throughout the country.
