With the title race heading into the final day, emotional farewells and a record number of goals, it’s been a Premier League season to remember for fans.
In addition to the competition, the Premier League provides world-leading investment in communities and football at all levels in England and Wales, contributing £1.6 billion over three years, equivalent to 16% of the league’s total revenue.
Premier League Stadium Foundation upgrades football pyramid facilities
Since 2000, the Premier League has awarded more than 5,000 grants, totaling nearly £200 million, to improve stadiums at more than 1,000 men’s and women’s clubs across England and Wales.
During the 2023/24 season, grants totaling £10.4 million have been awarded to 157 clubs to upgrade facilities, including 32 clubhouse and dressing room refurbishments, 45 stands and 56 new LED floodlights.
A total of 168 clubs across the National League System and the Women’s Football Pyramid have now received funding from the Premier League to replace old floodlights with more energy-efficient LED lights, reducing carbon emissions and costs.
Leicester City’s Premier League-winning captain Wes Morgan, who visited his former semi-professional side Dunkirk FC in his hometown of Nottingham earlier this season, explained:
“The Premier League’s support of the Football Pyramid is very important. It helps teams grow, improve and make the game better.
“It’s great to see how the facilities in Dunkirk have developed. There has been a lot of investment over the years and a lot of changes that have been very noticeable in my time.”
Football Foundation invests over £1bn in grassroots
The Football Foundation is funded by the Premier League, the FA and the Government and works to improve grassroots facilities across England. Since the Foundation was established in 2000, total investment from funding partners has exceeded £1 billion.
More than 13,000 grants have been awarded to improve grass pitches and more than 1,000 new 3G pitches have been built across the country.
More than 70,000 FA-affiliated teams have played at Football Foundation-funded facilities this season
In 2023/24, the Football Foundation is donating £85 million to schemes worth a total of £160 million that will improve lives and access to football facilities, with new venues opening from Chichester to Cheshire.
Thanks to the Football Foundation’s largest single grant of £6.2 million, the 19-pitch Bobby Moore Hub, named after the legendary World Cup-winning England captain, will open in February 2024 in his home district of Barking Parsloes Park officially opens. The Chloe Kelly Stadium was also unveiled at the center to mark the London Lionesses’ success at the 2022 European Women’s Football Championship.
West Ham United women’s football star Jawa Sissoko and former Hammers duo Bobby Zamora and Anton Ferdinand attended the unveiling of the facility, with Zamora commenting:
“I know it means a lot to the local community. People in this part of London are obsessed with football and these high-quality floodlit pitches mean football can be played all year round, whatever the weather.
Also this season, Derby and West Bromwich Albion have opened new small multi-purpose sports pitches, the first of 200 playgrounds planned by the Football Foundation to provide free sports pitches in community centres, with Premier League League support of £13.5m.
