Grassroots football struggling to survive, despite World Cup excitement

Grassroots football is struggling to survive despite excitement around the World Cup, says a YouGov survey for Volunteering England today.

The survey found that the World Cup is failing to entice people into volunteering for their local football team, despite football teams relying on volunteers for their survival.

The survey shows that nearly 95 per cent of people in England are not likely to volunteer for a football team in the near future. This comes at a time when amateur and semi-professional teams are struggling to recruit volunteers.

Many County English Football Association Chief Executives also admit that many grassroots teams need more volunteers to help run them.

Betteshanger Welfare FC in Kent set up in 1938 for local 16 year olds nearly went under earlier this year due to a lack of volunteers.

Roy Barlow, Chairman of Betteshanger, said: ìThe club was left just for me to run. I couldnít be there week in and week out. I was working as secretary, treasurer, chairman, everything. I canít remember how many hours I was doing, it was all the time. For a time there was a real risk that the club would become extinct.î

Christopher Spence, Chief Executive of Volunteering England, said: ìFootball is the national game, yet more often than not, grassroots and lower league football teams rely on a small but committed group of volunteers for survival. Many of the roles, including secretary, treasurer and chairman, are often carried out by the same person and when this person leaves, the club can fold.
ìWe need more people to stand up and be counted as volunteers for the national game so that people can continue playing football at all levels well into the future.î

First Division Port Vale Football Club volunteers made the difference between survival and extinction when they nearly went bankrupt five years ago. The Chairman Bill Bratt made himself the ultimate volunteer by performing his role for free.

Bill Brat, Chairman of Port Vale, said: ìWe have got 30 to 40 people who volunteer each week, without whom the club would be no more. I have supported the club for over 56 years and if you care for something you fight for it. During the World Cup, it is right to put the spotlight on the difference between the grassroots and the footballing elite. If you donít water the roots, the whole tree will collapse, including those at the top. Without volunteers, the whole of football would be become extinct.î

The club has an active volunteers group, which recruits and places members into three areas of work: fundraising, maintenance of the stadium, which can involve anything from cleaning to painting the terraces, and administration.

Joan Stanley, involved in sponsorship and organising away travel for supporters at the club, said: ìAs volunteers we are people who are getting a lot out of what we do. There is a real sense of ownership and we feel that it is a real privilege to be involved.î

The survey also revealed that only one per cent of people in England are likely to volunteer as a referee in the future. This is of particular concern to the FA considering their estimates that there is a shortfall of 30 per cent in the number of referees required to officiate at grassroots level.