Source: FOOTYMAD
Crime Does Pay: To Help Scottish Football
Proceeds of crime which have been recovered is to be invested in grass roots football. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has announced two significant awards from the CashBack for Communities programme which will benefit football in Scotland. It will not cost the Government anything as the millions to be invested have been confiscated from criminals under proceeds of crime legislation. Today’s announcement takes the total amount committed to CashBack projects since its launch in 2007 to more than £40 million. So far, more than half a million young people have taken part in the hundreds of projects made possible by CashBack for Communities.A one-off investment of £5 million has been made to help youth and community football facilities projects across the country and kick-start the work that is needed to address the issues outlined in the recent McLeish report on the Scottish game.Mr MacAskill confirmed more than 20 groups in Scotland will receive grants of between £18,000 and £600,000 to build new facilities or upgrade their existing grounds and changing rooms. Mr MacAskill also announced that the core CashBack funding for the SFA’s work with young people has been extended for a further three years, with £3 million awarded to help it develop its programme of free football activities through the Street Football and Midnight League programmes. This additional funding will also be used to expand the Schools of Football scheme that sees S1 and S2 pupils offered coaching sessions during the school day and has been proven to help the young people involved improve their attendance and academic performance. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “The CashBack for Communities programme has been incredibly successful in using money seized from crooks to fund projects in every part of Scotland. Today’s announcement brings the total amount we have invested to more than £40 million over the past four years. During that time CashBack has made significant investments in Scottish sport and our commitment to helping the grassroots is underlined by today’s announcement. This £5 million award will help more than 20 clubs and groups continue their excellent work providing sporting facilities for their local community. As one of our CashBack partners, the Scottish FA is helping us ensure that the ill-gotten gains of criminals can be put to good use by keeping youngsters out of trouble and hopefully unearthing future Scotland football stars. The £3 million extension to the Scottish FA’s core funding announced today will allow it to expand on its successful Schools of Football Scheme, and continue to offer first class coaching and diversionary football sessions for youngsters across the country.”Jim Fleeting, Scottish FA director of football development: “For the past four years, CashBack funding has allowed the Scottish FA to provide more opportunities for young people across Scotland to enjoy participating in our national game. It’s great news that the funding has been extended, allowing us to further develop our successful Schools of Football programme and continue bringing football into communities through the Street Football and Midnight League programmes. The additional funding for facilities projects will be invaluable for youth clubs and community groups, and will help us as we strive to strengthen the game from top to bottom and create a bright future for football in Scotland.” Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba.net)Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba.net)This is Scottish-Fitba.Net
