Football in Congleton received a boost today as Vale Juniors F.C were awarded a grant by the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation.

The £500 grant from the Foundation’s Club Preparation Fund will help Vale Juniors F.C to prepare their facilities to safely reopen in line with Government guidance around hygiene and social distancing and The FA’s plans for a ‘phased return’ that were announced on 18 July.

The Club Preparation Fund follows the £7m of investment awarded to 2,900 organisations through last month’s Pitch Preparation Fund, also delivered by the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation. This is enabling over 9,000 football pitches to be made match-fit, and is benefiting over 33,000 football teams.

Speaking about their funding success, Shawn Beardmore, Vale Juniors F.C - Vice-Chairman, said: “We are really grateful to the football foundation for this grant, it will allow us to continue the good work we have already started to allow grassroots football to return as safely as possible for our players.”

The Football Foundation is a charity funded by the Premier League, The FA and the Government, through Sport England.