FUND STATUS

Our 2025/26 application is now CLOSED.

New/Potential applicants must initially complete our ‘Kick Off’ form - this is available to download and completion via the link opposite.  On submission of this form, an initial assessment will be made against our key criteria listed below.  This will establish whether the proposed project is deliverable within the rules and constraints governing this round of funding.  If so, the applicant will be invited to apply. However, should the threshold for delivery not be met, there will be no invitation extended for this window.  Instead, the relevant Club Services Facilities Officer will work with the applicant to develop their proposal to ‘application ready’ stage for a future application window.

FUND OVERVIEW

Following delivery of close to 100 projects over the initial 4-year cycle of the Scottish FA’s Grassroots Pitch & Facilities Fund, we are pleased to announce another year of investment in partnership with the UK Government’s Department of Culture, Media & Sport.

From 2021 - 2025, £20.1m of investment returned over £42m of football facility developments and improvements at all levels of the game in Scotland.

In 2025/26, the new Scottish Football Facilities Fund will distribute a further £8.6m into key football facilities identified as critical in retaining and increasing participation at grassroots level and where there is an evidence-based need for investment.  These facilities will promote healthy, physical activity through football and other sports, contributing to social inclusion and cohesion in safe and attractive environments and in a sustainable way. 

For further information on the Scottish Football Facilities Fund, please click HERE 

OUR FUNDING STREAMS  

The Scottish Football Facilities Fund will invest across 2 separate funding ‘streams’…

• Community Football Spaces - to support grassroots football facility development 

• Member Support - to assist Scottish FA Member Clubs with their facility-related Club Licencing requirements   

Projects that can illustrate impact at both grassroots and member club level may attract investment from both ‘streams’.  Any potential to do so will be identified as part of the assessment process.

Community Football Spaces - will deliver deliver investment into 2 types of project;

Maintain projects - are focused on the redevelopment or upgrades of existing natural grass or 3G pitches, upgrades to existing floodlights, or general improvements to existing built infrastructure that supports the game, with a focus on facility requirements that foster the longer-term participation of girls and women.  

Attain projects - will see the development and delivery of ‘new build’ football facility projects - whether natural grass, 3G pitches or the other forms of built infrastructure that will best support the game. There will be a focus on the types of spaces that are now needed by grassroots football clubs to support their variety of off-pitch activities, as well as on-pitch.

Our core facility targets are;

Football Pitches - both synthetic and natural grass pitch development. This will broaden impact beyond solely synthetic playing surfaces, providing a much-needed funding source for natural grass pitch venues that have suffered significantly as a result of decreasing levels of investment over the years due to wider financial pressures. 

Built Infrastructure - improvements, upgrades and reconfigurations to existing facilities that support football.  These projects will address issues related to safety, accessibility, diversity and inclusion, ensuring that such facilities can continue to operate in a safe, secure and as operationally efficient a way as possible. 

Community Football Spaces - Key Objectives & Criteria 

Initial identification of potential projects for investment will be made on satisfying the following 3 key, strategic criteria: 

• protect both current and future football participation levels 

• continue to offer football development opportunities in a safe, attractive venue 

• promote football as a positive lifestyle choice. 

Projects meeting the above will then move on to being assessed against the 2025/26 fund criteria;

• Multi-sport - 40% of our total investment will support projects evidencing multi-sport activity (i.e. beyond solely football) of at least 5 hours per week 

• Under-represented Groups - 40% of our total investment will support projects that offer regular use to under-represented groups 

• Girls & Women - across all funded projects, we must evidence 20% of total use supports Girls & Women’s sport 

• Deprivation - 50% of our total investment requires to target the 30% most deprived communities within Scotland as identified by the Scottish Indices of Multiple Deprivation.  The location for your project and where it sits in the Scottish Indices of Multiple Deprivation can be checked here - SIMD Checker

Community Football Spaces - Funding Approach

A ‘partner, or match, funding’ approach is being adopted for this phase of funding, with 50% Scottish FA / 50% partner contribution the principal starting point. 

• Where an applicant can produce a strong, robust, evidence-based argument for an investment above 50%, this will be considered.    

• Applications from Scotland’s most rural communities are welcome, and where successful, a ‘rural indexation’ may be added to an award to cover the additional costs (e.g., materials, transport/logistics) often incurred by delivery partners based in more remote locations. 

• All projects must be initiated on notification of award. 

• Failure to complete the works proposed as outlined within your application will result in the withdrawal of funding. 

For further information on Community Football Spaces, please click HERE 

Member Support 

The new addition to the Scottish Football Facilities Fund for 2025/26, Member Support, funded directly by the Scottish FA has been created to support clubs who currently hold full membership and currently hold a Scottish FA Club Licence.

Please do not apply to Member Support if your club is not in full membership of the Scottish FA and therefore doesn’t currently hold any level of Club Licence.

Member Support projects must help the applicant club to; 

• Maintain their current level within the Scottish FA's Club Licencing scheme, or  

• Attain the next level within the Scottish FA's Club Licencing Scheme ​ 

The project must also evidence, in clear and measurable terms, a positive financial, and where possible, an environmental impact, all of which will contribute to overall club sustainability.

The Scottish FA’s Club Licencing Manual - Sections 5 & 6- underpin Member Support and therefore all projects must target at least one of the key criteria within the relevant sections.  

Member Support - Funding Approach

• A ‘partner, or match, funding’ approach is being adopted for this phase of funding, with 50% Scottish FA / 50% partner contribution the principal starting point. 

• Where an applicant can produce a strong, robust, evidence-based argument for an investment above 50%, this will be considered.  

For further information on Member Support, please click HERE 

OUR PRIORITIES ACROSS BOTH FUNDING STREAMS

Sustainability - is threaded through everything we do and therefore we expect all applicants to have robust policies in this area. All our football facility projects must have environmental, financial and ultimately club sustainability at their core, at the same time delivering real football participation and developmental impacts. 

Expertise - all projects must be delivered by a recognised contractor in the relevant field for your project type. For example, all Artificial Grass Pitch projects must be overseen by a certified pitch consultant and must pass a FIFA pitch test on completion, whilst all built infrastructure projects must be led by a design team comprising of people with the relevant professional skills and experience pertinent to project type (e.g. architect, quantity surveyor, CDM (where applicable), project manager).  

Delivery - due to the financial year accounting rules which govern the Community Football Spaces investment specifically, we will prioritise applications which clearly evidence the ability to move promptly to construction phase pending a successful application.  Security of Tenure (minimum 25 years), Statutory Consents (e.g. planning permission, building warrants etc) and a complete funding package (see section below) being in place are 3 key indicators of being ‘construction ready’.  Projects able to evidence the above will be prioritised.

YOUR FUNDING PACKAGE

Partner Funding & Engagement - if your project is dependent on investment from other sources, please be aware that many funders are often oversubscribed.  This is particularly the case in the current financial climate.  Consequently, funders may not be in a financial position to support your project to the full extent of your request - or even in part.

Regardless of the scale of investment being sought from each, it is vitally important you engage with all potential funders simultaneously.  Progressing your project from funding award through construction phase and ultimately on to completion is often directly related to the timescales governing the release of different elements within your overall funding profile.

You must consider the impact that a lower award than applied for - or a full rejection - will have on the overall financial viability of your project when developing your funding profile.  Where possible, you should develop a contingency plan that considers all possible outcomes.