Football Foundation

What Football Foundation does

The Football Foundation is a UK registered charity (no. 1079309) established in 2000 as the joint charitable vehicle of the Premier League, The FA, and Government via Sport England, headquartered at Wembley Stadium, London. Its core function is capital grant disbursement for grassroots sports facility development across England, having deployed over £2 billion into community projects over 25 years, with an annual social return estimated at £109 million. It operates two principal subsidiaries: the Premier League Stadium Fund (non-charitable arm funding stadia for FA National League System and EFL clubs) and The Football Foundation Trading Limited (wholly owned trading entity).

The Foundation's product surface is a multi-tier grant portfolio covering 3G pitches, grass pitch maintenance (six-year tapered grants), changing pavilions, goalposts, floodlights, fencing, drainage, storage, and the PlayZones multi-use mini-pitch programme, plus a dedicated Lionesses HERe to Play Fund for women's and girls' facilities. Its proprietary technology asset is PitchPower, an award-winning web app that enables smartphone-based pitch inspections, which feeds expert GMA-reviewed maintenance reports that in turn unlock Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund eligibility. Distribution is hybrid: an online Power Apps Portal for self-serve applications, supported by Regional Pitch Advisors, County Football Associations as channel partners, and a consortium-based delivery model for PlayZones. Customers span grassroots football clubs, town/parish councils, local authorities, educational sites, women and girls, people with disabilities, and culturally diverse communities.

The business model is grant-funding intermediation rather than product sales: the Foundation collects capital from its three sponsors, applies a four-stage assessment process (Expression of Interest, Narrow the Focus, Community Engagement and Site Identification, Full Application), and disburses funds directly to suppliers rather than to applicants. Governance is overseen by a Board of Trustees with Martin Glenn as Chairman and Robert Sullivan as Chief Executive. GTM is dual-motion: sales-led for the application portal workflow and community-led through the Community Engagement Toolkit emphasising co-design with priority audiences. The Foundation operates exclusively in England, with no international footprint.

Name

Football Foundation

Legal name

Football Foundation

Website

https://footballfoundation.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Football Foundation is a UK charity, jointly funded by the Premier League, The FA, and Government, that disburses capital grants to develop grassroots sports facilities across England. It has deployed over £2 billion in 25 years via grant programmes and a proprietary pitch-inspection platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Facility Grants

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK)

Keywords

• Grassroots football funding
• Sports facility grants
• Pitch improvement grants
• Community sports charity
• Football infrastructure funding

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Capital Grant Disbursement: The Football Foundation receives funding from the Premier League, The FA, and Government (via Sport England) and disburses this as capital grants to develop community football facility projects in England. Grants are provided for facilities including 3G pitches, grass pitch improvements, changing pavilions, goalposts, floodlights, drainage, fencing, and PlayZones. The Foundation has delivered over £2 billion in community sports projects over 25 years.
2. Premier League Stadium Fund: The non-charitable arm of the Football Foundation, funded wholly by the Premier League. Funds stadia facility projects for clubs operating in the FA National League System and the English Football League.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Football Foundation is a registered charity (No. 1079309) that distributes grants for grassroots football facility development across England, including 3G pitches, grass pitch improvements, changing pavilions, goalposts, floodlights, fencing, and PlayZones. It is funded jointly by the Premier League, The FA, and the UK Government (via Sport England) and has invested over £2 billion across 25 years. It also provides the award-winning PitchPower pitch inspection app, used by clubs and operators to assess pitch conditions.

Product overview

The Football Foundation operates as a multi-product grant funding organisation offering a unified platform of grant programmes and digital tools to improve grassroots sports facilities across England. The core product is PitchPower, a free web app for pitch inspections that unlocks access to grant funding. The Foundation's portfolio includes multiple grant programmes (PlayZones, Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund, Lionesses HERe to Play, Changing Pavilions, 3G Pitches, Goalposts, Floodlights, Fencing, Drainage, Storage, and various grass pitch improvement programmes) all connected through the PitchPower platform that assesses pitch conditions and recommends appropriate funding. The Community Engagement Toolkit provides supporting resources for applicants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 3G Pitch Grant
• Grass Pitch Improvement Grant
• New Grass Pitch Grant
• Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund
• Grass Pitch Drainage Grant
• Grass Pitch Maintenance Machinery and Equipment Grant
• 3G Pitch Maintenance Machinery and Equipment Grant
• Changing Pavilions and Clubhouses Grant
• Goalposts Grant
• Portable Floodlight Grant
• Fencing Grant
• Storage Container Grant
• Small-Sided Facility Grant
• PlayZones Programme
• Lionesses HERe to Play Fund
• PitchPower

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £2 billion invested in community sports projects over 25 years
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Essex County Football AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership to identify opportunities and support delivery of the Bobby Moore Sports Hub. Essex County FA worked closely with Barking and Dagenham Council and seconded an employee for community engagement and feasibility work.
• Barking and Dagenham CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal authority partner providing £6.1 million investment alongside £6.2 million Football Foundation grant for the Bobby Moore Sports Hub. Provided land at Parsloes Park for the facility.
• West Ham United FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWill utilise the Bobby Moore Sports Hub facilities to deliver education, development and community programmes including coaching, education, and social inclusion initiatives.
• Grounds Management Association (GMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpert partner providing pitch grading framework and reviewing PitchPower assessments. GMA experts compile bespoke reports with maintenance recommendations for applicants.
• Leisure UnitedmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity operating the Bobby Moore Sports Hub on behalf of the National Football Trust. All surplus income is reinvested into grassroots football in the area.
• The Football Foundation Trading LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-charitable wholly owned trading company within the Foundation Group. Supports the running of the Foundation alongside charitable activities.
• County Football AssociationscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCounty FAs help support the implementation and performance of grants, provide advice to applicants, and often employ Women & Girls Football Development Officers and Disability Officers.
• Active PartnershipscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal strategic partnerships encouraged to join consortiums for PlayZones applications. Part of the network working to increase physical activity across England.
• Professional Club Community OrganisationsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional football club foundations and community organisations encouraged to join local consortia for PlayZones delivery. Examples include West Ham United Foundation.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Scottish Football Association: Scotland's national football governing body and primary funder of grassroots football facilities north of the border. Highly comparable business model within a separate national jurisdiction.
• Sport Wales: National sport agency for Wales funding grassroots sport facilities. Mirror body to Sport England in jurisdiction and counterpart in the broader UK funding landscape.

Emerging players

• Access Sport: Charity providing grants and capacity-building to community sports clubs serving low-income families in the UK. Comparable grassroots-inclusion mandate at smaller scale.
• StreetGames: UK charity delivering sport in disadvantaged communities, often partnering with Football Foundation on facility delivery (e.g., for PlayZones). Smaller in scale and grants, but overlapping beneficiary base and segment focus.

Direct peers

• England Athletics: National governing body funding community athletics facility improvements through capital grants — structurally analogous niche-funding model to Football Foundation.
• Sport England: UK Government-funded body that distributes Lottery and DCMS money for grassroots sport and physical activity. The Foundation receives funding from Sport England and addresses the same beneficiary base, making it the closest operational peer.
• England Hockey: National governing body for hockey in England operating capital grant schemes for pitches and facilities. Multi-sport overlap with Football Foundation's 40% multi-sport expansion creates direct comparability.
• Lawn Tennis Association (LTA): UK national governing body with a dedicated funding arm (LTA Tennis Foundation) that disburses capital and revenue grants for tennis facilities, coaching, and community programmes — analogous grassroots facility-funding model to Football Foundation.

Broad incumbents

• UK Sport: Government arm's-length body distributing National Lottery and Exchequer funds for high-performance sport. Analogous position in the UK sport-funding ecosystem, although tilted toward elite rather than grassroots.
• The FA: The Football Foundation's joint-owner and primary grant-disbursement partner. Operates funding programmes, regulation and development for English football, sharing governance, leadership and beneficiary constituencies with the Foundation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FootballFoundtn
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/footballfdn
• Facebookfacebook.com/FootballFoundation1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/football-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/footballfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Football Foundation