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Workington pan-disability team handed vital cash injection
Workington AFC’s new pan-disability football team has been given a significant boost by a vital cash injection.
The Reds are working tirelessly to make sure that the game is accessible for all as part of their community offering and improving opportunities for disabled footballers has been high on their recent agenda.
They have now been awarded a grant by the Trident Community Foundation, established by Northern Premier League partners Pitching In, to continue the expansion of the pan-disability set-up.
“We were approached by somebody who wanted to come on board and run a team last year,” said Workington vice-chairman and community director Richard Lewthwaite.
“We made the effort and created the team with a vision of going forward into 2023 and getting them into some competitive leagues.
“We still want to do everything in our plan, which is to be fully inclusive, but we need help with the funding for things like that.
“Where we are, it’s a rural community. We’re 30 miles away from where the events take place for the pan-disability team and it comes down to the funding of transport.
“It quite simply wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for this TCF funding - we just couldn’t afford it as a club to maintain our other commitments and develop a pan-disability team as well.”
This is not the first time that Workington have been assisted by the Trident Community Foundation, which awards grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 to Step 3 and 4 clubs with the aim of launching new or expanding existing community initiatives.
The Reds previously received funding in 2021 for the Friday Night Project, weekly football sessions for local children, and Lewthwaite is confident this latest integral cash injection will provide another boost.
He added: “We were so pleased with the ability to access that funding that we decided to look again.
“The structure of the clubs that play at the level we do, it can make it difficult for them to go and access funding. The Trident Community Foundation just ticks that box.
“It’s about the level of football you’re playing at. It’s good that somebody’s backing that area of football and helping clubs to develop.
“It’s so difficult for clubs to keep going. I’m sure we’re not the only club in that position and just to be able to know that we’re comfortable with funding, that's superb.”
Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain, has launched a multi-million-pound investment programme, Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sports. For more details see: https://entaingroup.com/sustainability/pitching-in/
Photo credit: Les Byers
They have now been awarded a grant by the Trident Community Foundation, established by Northern Premier League partners Pitching In, to continue the expansion of the pan-disability set-up.
“We were approached by somebody who wanted to come on board and run a team last year,” said Workington vice-chairman and community director Richard Lewthwaite.
“We made the effort and created the team with a vision of going forward into 2023 and getting them into some competitive leagues.
“We still want to do everything in our plan, which is to be fully inclusive, but we need help with the funding for things like that.
“Where we are, it’s a rural community. We’re 30 miles away from where the events take place for the pan-disability team and it comes down to the funding of transport.
“It quite simply wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for this TCF funding - we just couldn’t afford it as a club to maintain our other commitments and develop a pan-disability team as well.”
This is not the first time that Workington have been assisted by the Trident Community Foundation, which awards grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 to Step 3 and 4 clubs with the aim of launching new or expanding existing community initiatives.
The Reds previously received funding in 2021 for the Friday Night Project, weekly football sessions for local children, and Lewthwaite is confident this latest integral cash injection will provide another boost.
He added: “We were so pleased with the ability to access that funding that we decided to look again.
“The structure of the clubs that play at the level we do, it can make it difficult for them to go and access funding. The Trident Community Foundation just ticks that box.
“It’s about the level of football you’re playing at. It’s good that somebody’s backing that area of football and helping clubs to develop.
“It’s so difficult for clubs to keep going. I’m sure we’re not the only club in that position and just to be able to know that we’re comfortable with funding, that's superb.”
Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain, has launched a multi-million-pound investment programme, Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sports. For more details see: https://entaingroup.com/sustainability/pitching-in/
Photo credit: Les Byers
