The Telegraph reported recently that the government has been urged to pressurise the Premier League to “dig deep” for grassroots football funding after opening talks on a new financial commitment that will start next year.
The collapse of the proposed £600 million Wembley sale has placed renewed scrutiny on the Premier League’s current allocation for grassroots projects, which stands at £100m per year and represents 3.6 percent of its overall £8.3bn broadcast deal.
There is a petition calling to increase the figure to five percent while the Football Task Force of 1999 recommended that “a minimum of five percent of income” would be available “primarily for investment in grassroots”. Members of that Task Force have since told Telegraph Sport that they regarded this as a commitment in return for them supporting the Premier League’s lucrative collective selling model.
Culture secretary Jeremy Wright was asked last week in the House of Commons about grassroots funding and expects the Premier League’s payments to remain at a minimum of £100m per year.
While the additional pressure on the Premier League could be viewed as a step in the right direction, grassroots clubs need to be extra diligent when it comes to how they manage these funds. One area in which many clubs and organisations are overspending is travel.
The Sport and Recreation Alliance has partnered with Traveleads, a successful sports travel management company who have been operating in elite and representative level sport since 1984. As the largest provider of travel services to UK governing bodies of sport, they provide the most cost-effective way to buy sports travel for both teams and individual athletes.
Sports funded by the various Sports Councils need to show diligence in their purchasing and this was one reason Traveleads designed their unique Sports Portal. Their technology offers users a full audit trail of quotes and bookings, along with detailed content which is easily displayed and shared. The portal allows users to create their own projects, take control of naming squads and provide names to airlines and hotels.
Traveleads can arrange every aspect of your team travel, including transfers, meals, meetings, training, etc.
The Traveleads sports portal is an ideal way to show the efficiency of your processes as part of any funding audit and could be a game-changer in terms of winning a funding decision.
To see an online video or webex demonstration of the Traveleads Sports Portal, please contact Eric Edwards: eedwards@traveleads.net or call 0113 242 2202.
Here is an end-of-week wrap on some key workstreams we’re undertaking for you, our members, that we want to bring to your attention. It covers a number of important pieces of information for consideration or action.
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Read the statement from Sport and Recreation Alliance CEO, Lisa Wainwright MBE.
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International Women’s Day serves as a reminder of the importance of gender equality, not just in society at large, but in all sectors, including sport and recreation. While progress has been made in many areas, there remains a glaring need for greater representation of women in leadership roles, particularly on boards and as chairs of sports organisations.
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