David James warns of 'lost generation' unless grassroots football gets help
Grassroots football clubs have lost 48% of their income since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, a new report suggests, with former England goalkeeper David James warning “we are going to lose a generation of football participants” if something is not done.
As negotiations to bail out the professional football pyramid continue in private, through the media and in parliament, a quieter crisis is breaking out across the country. Grassroots clubs, a loose definition that covers everything from non-league sides to community clubs and Sunday league teams, are on the verge of collapse.
Related: 'It’s a huge number': Fifa believes football has lost £11.1bn to Covid
A survey of grassroots clubs, and of parents of grassroots players at that level, has found that one in 10 clubs believe they could be out of business by the end of the season because of the coronavirus crisis. Meanwhile, three in 10 young players, according to their parents, have not returned to their clubs since amateur sports were allowed to restart by government. The study was conducted by the energy company Utilita.
Speaking in his role as an ambassador for the report, James said the nature of the debate regarding protecting the professional game in England, failed to acknowledge the broader social importance football has. “I could quote Boris Johnson talking about grassroots clubs being ‘the life and soul of the community’”, James said. “The grassroots game is part of the social fabric. You’re talking about people who use the facilities if not for physical activity then for social activity and it’s massively important for their wellbeing, their physical and mental health.”
James believes the grassroots game should be recognised as something much more than the first rung in the football pyramid. “Me and my friends started playing because we loved the game and the social aspect of it. We weren’t dreaming of playing for England.
“Once you take away the grassroots football clubs then you don’t have that opportunity and that is the big concern for me. If you’re not interested as a kid the chances of you being interested as a fan are less and the game needs both. The biggest risk is that we are going to lose a generation of football participants.”
James believes that government should look to intervene, perhaps via tax cuts or a reduction of VAT on takings at clubhouses. But he also calls on the communities that grassroots club serve to step up in this time of crisis. “I think where the conversation gets confused sometimes is when people say the Premier League should pay for everybody to play grassroots football as if it’s only a feeder for the top flight”, James said. “It’s a vital feeder and without grassroots you don’t have the opportunity for English players to go through the process to make it to the Premier League.
“So it’s not that the League and the FA doesn’t have responsibility, but when the community wants these facilities the community have to help themselves. The idea of volunteering is key. It’s a hand-in-hand responsibility. It’s not just that one governing body should allow everyone to do everything for free, you need to have ownership yourself.”
