Why grassroots football matters more than

LL THIS WEEK Why grassroots football matters more than ever

Hundreds of amateur football clubs have been forced into their second significant standstill of the year. JAYKE BROPHY looks at what that means for fans and players

Grassroots football has been paused across the country.

Like every other halted activity this month, the action has been taken in an attempt to lower the number of Coronavirus cases before Christmas, but this could leave a number of clubs in financial danger.

Even the EFL has said this week that they have a number of teams struggling to pay players their wages. At the level of football which has been stopped however, it is even worse. These clubs rely on matchday income to pay the bills. Without shirt sponsors or having their stadiums named after luxury airlines, non-league clubs are on their last legs.

Outside of that, young people have also seen their pastimes taken away for four weeks. Whilst these youth clubs are in no financial danger, and most will undoubtedly be able to kick off from where they stopped come the first week of December, it means we now live in a country where outdoor sport is considered ‘non-essential’.

It means we now live in a country where outdoor sport is considered ‘non-essential’. We now have to ask whether cancelling all grassroots sport for a month was the correct thing to do and does the science really back this controversial decision?

Grassroots football will always hold a special place in my heart. Any given weekend I am among the thousands of people either watching or participating in the beautiful game.

For many, it is a way of life. In my role as a referee I meet people from all around England every week who have spent their lives working tirelessly for their local side for nothing but the love of the game.

Since the return of football in August, these people have turned their devotion up a notch by not only volunteering their free time to their club, but doing so in a COVID-secure way. I don’t say this lightly, but the safest I feel anywhere these days is at a football ground. Upon entry to any footballing venue everyone attending is

Grassroots Football UK used its Facebook page to make a public plea to Digital, Cultural, Media and Sport Minister, Oliver Dowden, left

Jayke Brophy refereeing a match © Jayke Brophy

temperature tested, Track and Trace is in place, and social distancing is ‘To suggest that maintained in the bar at full-time. It is borderline insulting to the thou- sport is ‘nonsands of people who have invested and worked tirelessly to ensure their essential’ seems club is safe that they are suddenly deemed both non-essential and danto set a gerous venues. The real unfortunate issue within dangerous this second lockdown however is the suspension of youth football. I played precedent’ kids Sunday League every weekend Football UK’ there have been a numin the winter from the age of eight up ber of posts showing the upset and until I was 16 and hung up my boots confusion among their community. to pick up a referee’s whistle. Including an ‘open letter’ to Oliver

I know just how important football Dowden, the minister in charge of is to young people, not just as a hob- sport, urging him to see the imporby but also as a physical and mental tance of exercise during the panexercise. To suggest that sport is demic. The post has so far received ‘non-essential’ seems to set a danger- over one thousand likes, proving that ous precedent to me. In July, Public many people feel agree with the senHealth England suggested that peo- timent. ple were 40% more likely to die after This suspension of grassroots sports contracting coronavirus if they had a came as a bit of shock to everyone, BMI of 35-40, compared to a much even when the Prime Minister was healthier level of Body Mass. This making his statement on October 31. clearly shows the importance of ad- That Saturday, I was talking with my vocating a healthy sporting lifestyle assistants for the day and the Chairamong young people. man of the home side and we were

If we need to close the pubs and all in agreement in our expectation restaurants for a month to ensure that low-level sport, and football in that people can still exercise readily, particular given its outdoors nature, then that seems like a fair trade off. would be spared from the cull a lockPerhaps the hardest pill to swallow down provides. Perhaps we were in for young people will be the fact denial, but when we left the pitch at that elite youth sport has been giv- full-time that afternoon, none of us en permission to continue. Meaning truly believed it would be the last that there will be people in the same time we would be on a football pitch classrooms at school who have, or for over a month. For now though have not, been allowed to keep play- we all eagerly await the return of our ing the sport they love, based purely beautiful game and hope that those on their ability. in power see sense about its impor-

On the Facebook page ‘Grassroots tance.