The Stay in the Game bursary has been a massive help to Dulwich Village and as a grassroots club, we're grateful for any help.
Without that funding this season, we might not have been in a position to help some of the people in the community that we do.
We've used the bursary for help towards funding matchday fees, training ground fees and help towards kit which is important, because football these days can cost a bit more than it used to.
As a club, we believe in being open and inclusive to all, and this has helped us to make that more possible.
It’s allowed me to invite players to play who maybe couldn't have previously because of the cost and we’ve been able to contribute towards their match fees each week.
I believe football is so important in our area, socially. They say football is a language for everyone and it helps people who maybe wouldn't meet each other in other walks of life.
This has allowed people to come together and play football, when maybe they wouldn't have been able to before and we’ve seen the positive effects.
For example, in our squad we've got a school teacher, a painter and decorator, a few students and a couple of people who are unfortunately unemployed. They’re now all team-mates and friends because of football.
But what's been great for me, is seeing people develop.
We had a young lad who couldn't afford to pay his fees at the start of the season but he's now managed to find employment through meeting someone in the team, who he probably would never have met in everyday life. That’s what this is about.
When I first saw the Stay in the Game bursary, it was something interesting because we try to support a lot of players here.
We’d seen the scheme in previous years but this time, we really went for it and focused on it and it’s really helped us to keep players in the game.
So my message to other clubs looking at this would be to just go for it! I just wish we'd done it earlier, as it's really helped Dulwich Village be open and inclusive to everyone.
We've grown from a small club to having a number of teams! It was our dream to be open and inclusive to everyone and getting that grant has been a key in providing that!
