UEFA Grassroots Week has come to an end for 2020.
Here, we take a look back over a busy week across the country.
GIVE FOR GRASSROOTS
The week started with the launch of Give for Grassroots, a new support fund allowing fans of Scottish football to help grassroots clubs continue to provide for children within their local communities.
With COVID-19 having had a severely detrimental impact on grassroots football across the country, the support fund, Give for Grassroots, was set up by the Scottish FA on Wednesday, 23 October with support from its charity partner ‘The Scottish Football Partnership Trust’ (SC044867) and will help ensure young football players across the country have the opportunity to return to the game they love.
Launched as part of #UEFAGrassroots week, we've already kicked off the Give for Grassroots Appeal with a £50,000 donation to the initiative – and are now encouraging fans across Scotland to donate as well.
— Scottish FA (@ScottishFA) September 23, 2020
➡️ You can donate here: https://t.co/gOnrIikYTR pic.twitter.com/6dU62DhxlQ
The Scottish FA have already kicked off the appeal with a £50,000 donation and are encouraging fans across Scotland to donate, including those who purchased UEFA EURO 2020 play-off semi-final tickets donating their refund.
To donate to Give for Grassroots, visit virginmoneygiving.com/fund/GiveForGrassroots
POSITIVE PLAY CAMPAIGN
That was followed by the launch of the Positive Play campaign, an initiative supported by Nationwide Building Society to promote a healthy learning environment across the grassroots game.
The campaign aims to reward clubs for focussing on effort and respect for young players in the 11-a-side game, as well as the work carried out by coaches, officials and parents alike.
As children made their return to the game, the Scottish FA and Nationwide have focussed on promoting and encouraging a healthy learning environment thanks to support from Britain’s biggest building society.
SCOTTISH FA AND NETWORK RAIL JOIN FORCES AGAIN
Friday saw the Scottish FA announce a new agreement with Network Rail allowing investment into football clubs across Scotland to promote key rail safety messages.
The two organisations joined forces for a third consecutive year to provide resources to clubs, enabling football activity to take place alongside the delivery of educational messages to young people about the dangers associated with railway lines.
Safety is paramount at all times....look out for the key messages over the next 5 weeks @ScottishFA @ScotFANorth @NetworkRailSCOT @BTPScotNorth @liamkerrMSP @JennyMarra @UEFA #UEFAGrassroots pic.twitter.com/frNKC9SKTN
— Aberdeen FC Ladies (@aberdeenfcl) September 25, 2020
Over the course of the next 12 months the exciting initiative will engage with more than 10,000 young people through a wide range of football clubs across the length and breadth of the country.
Phase one of the new Network Rail project will commence this month where 44 clubs will become initially involved with funding provided so sessions can be facilitated. The clubs will be selected in partnership with Network Rail based on their location.
As the week comes to an end, Everton captain Lucy Graham reflects on her grassroots journey ahead of leading her team out in the FA Cup semi-final.
Read our exclusive interview in full here.