Football NSW is excited to once more flick the switch with another year of funding under the extremely successful ‘Let’s Light Up Football’ campaign.
Due to the overwhelming number of grant applications in 2018 and the success in lighting up some 17 football pitches, Football NSW is pleased to offer another tranche of vital funding to football clubs for this much needed aspect of facility improvements.
“We are excited to once again inject funding into the local football community across NSW” stated Football NSW Chief Executive, Stuart Hodge.
“The recent state-wide facilities audit highlighted that 32% of the fields in NSW don’t have floodlighting and 42% of fields with lighting are below the minimum Australian Standards of 50 lux. This campaign aims to address this issue by providing participants with a safe and welcoming environment”.
Another $300,000 from the Community Investment Fund (joint initiative between Football NSW and Football Federation Australia) will provide Member Associations and Clubs with the opportunity to upgrade lighting to a safe and suitable standard for the community.
In the inaugural year of the campaign, 17 lighting projects across regional and metropolitan NSW received much needed seed funding to assist them in being able to seek local council support in addition to making their own contribution. It is estimated that Football NSW’s commitment of $300,000 resulted in a total of almost $2 million worth of football related lighting projects.
Football is the largest participated sport in NSW and Australia, and with the volume of players brings great strain on facilities across the state. Football NSW strongly believes investment in football infrastructure is vital to ensure people can actively and safely engage in sport and recreation.
Applications for the Let’s Light Up Football campaign will open in April 2019 (date to be confirmed) with the guidelines and the online application made available when the grant officially opens.
Affiliated clubs and associations, local councils and schools will again be eligible to apply.
The fund will provide up to 20% of a floodlighting project with a maximum of $20,000 available per project. The project will also need confirmed approval from the relevant local government authority as part of the eligibility criteria.
Football NSW encourages clubs, associations and councils to collaborate now and be prepared when the grant opens in April.
For further enquires or to discuss your lighting project, please contact the Facilities and Advocacy Unit on 1300 213 771.
