Grassroots sport is good for our kids.
For a child, a grassroots sports club can be the beginning of something much bigger.
It's where they make their first friends, learn to work as part of a team, discover what they're good at and build the confidence to try something new.
For some, it might lead to a professional career. For many more, it becomes something just as valuable: a lifelong love of being active, a sense of belonging, the confidence to take on challenges and memories that stay with them for decades.
BUT…
Every year, 100,000 games are cancelled every year in football alone due to poor pitch conditions, and by 2050, 1 in 4 pitches could be underwater.
Every cancelled game is a missed opportunity for connection, exercise, routine and the countless mental health benefits that grassroots sport provides.
So, we’re doing something about it.
“It'll make me feel a lot happier because I can socialise, I can train more and get to where I want to go in the future."
Emilia, Old Northamptonians (See Case Study)
We helped this 100-year-old club raise £20,000 to make their pitches playable again and reunite multiple sporting communities.
youth development
& grassroots sports
A local football pitch, rugby club, cricket ground or playing field can become a constant in a young person's life.
But these spaces are increasingly vulnerable to flooding, extreme rainfall, heat and other impacts of a changing climate.
When a pitch becomes unplayable, the consequences go beyond a cancelled fixture. Young people lose opportunities to be active, to socialise, to develop skills and to be part of their community.
And when those cancellations happen repeatedly, some children can lose their connection to sport altogether.
LET’S DO SOME COOL STUFF TOGETHER
Interested in collaborating with Save Our Grassroots?
We want to work with organisations that share our belief that every young person deserves access to safe, welcoming and resilient places to play.
We're looking to partner with youth organisations, children's charities, sports bodies, education providers, health organisations, community groups and businesses to develop future campaigns and initiatives focused on youth development through grassroots sport.
That could mean creating content, supporting clubs, developing youth programmes, funding community projects or helping us demonstrate the wider value of grassroots sport to young people.
If your organisation works to give young people more opportunities to thrive, we'd love to hear from you.
Together, we can protect the places where the next generation will make friends, build confidence, discover their potential — and write their own grassroots stories.
