Entain : Pitching In Announces Major Funding Boost to Non-League and Grassroots Football Clubs

11 August 2021

Entain's Pitching In Announces Major Funding Boost to Non-League and Grassroots Football Clubs

Supportfrom leading operator tops £1 million

Entain, the global sports betting and gaming operator which owns Ladbrokes and Coral in the UK, has today reinforced its support of non-league football by committing a further £150,000 to the Trident Community Foundation ('TCF') for community projects run by clubs in the three Trident Leagues (The Pitching In Isthmian, Pitching In Northern Premier and Pitching In Southern Leagues).

This additional funding of the TCF is on top of Entain's headline partnership with the Trident Leagues through the Entain Foundation's Pitching In programme - a multi-million-pound grassroots and non-elite sport investment fund - and brings its total contribution to the Trident Leagues to over £1 million.

Entain's headline partnership with the Trident Leagues launched in the 2020-21 season, with the aim of providing much-needed financial support to non-league football, following the financial pressures caused by the pandemic.

Entain became a founding partner of the TCF in December 2020, making an initial £150,000 donation. The Entain Foundation's vision is to create a strong sustainable community programme that will help clubs develop young talent, promote non-league football to a wider audience and attract volunteers.

In the 2020-21 season, the TCF made grants to 27 clubs to run projects including coaching in the community, the expansion of girls' football, health and wellbeing for 5-16-year-olds, and the development of community football infrastructure.

The TCF fund operates via a grant application process for the 245 football clubs in this season's Pitching In Isthmian League, The Pitching In Northern Premier League and The Pitching In Southern League. Its guiding objective is to support, develop and improve the delivery of community programmes at the football clubs and help fund small and medium-sized projects.

Pitching In ambassador Stuart Pearce, former England captain and manager of Team GB's men's football team at the 2012 Olympics, who knows all about the value of the non-league community from his early days playing at Wealdstone, said: 'The new 'Pitching In' investment couldn't come at a more challenging time for the grassroots football community.

'Non-league football clubs faced unprecedented effects on their finances from the Covid-19 pandemic and many clubs continue to struggle to stay afloat. Entain committing to further funding of non-league teams will make a big difference to hundreds of clubs, thousands of players and hundreds of thousands of fans across the country.

'The Trident Community Foundation demonstrates the true meaning of Pitching In and strengthens existing bonds within communities across the country. I look forward to seeing non-league clubs thrive so that the future generation of football fans can experience and enjoy the game at grassroots level.'

In a joint statement, the three leagues - Nick Robinson (chairman, Isthmian), Mark Harris (chairman, Northern Premier) and Anthony Hughes (vice chairman, Southern League) said today: 'The Trident Leagues are delighted with today's announcement of the next round of funding from the Trident Community Foundation. This latest phase of Entain's Pitching In grassroots and non-elite sports investment programme is critical for the future of non-league football. Our clubs are at the heart of their local communities and this funding will provide them with the means to strengthen those links.'

For more details see: https://entaingroup.com/sustainability/pitching-in/

ENDS

EDITORS' NOTES:

About Entain plc
Entain plc (LSE:ENT) is a FTSE100 company and is one of the world's largest sports-betting and gaming groups, operating both online and in the retail sector. The Group owns a comprehensive portfolio of established brands; Sports Brands include bwin, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Neds and Sportingbet; Gaming Brands include CasinoClub, Foxy Bingo, Gala, Gioco Digitale, partypoker and PartyCasino. The Group owns proprietary technology across all of its core product verticals and in addition to its B2C operations provides services to a number of third-party customers on a B2B basis. The Group has also entered into a joint-venture with MGM Resorts to capitalise on the sports-betting and gaming opportunity in the US. The Group is tax resident in the UK with licenses in more than 20 countries, across five continents.

For more information see the Group's website: www.entaingroup.com

List of Clubs offered grants in the first round of grants from the Trident Community Foundation:

• Pitching In Northern Premier League

Newcastle Town FC, Marine FC, Workington FC, Scarborough FC, Lincoln United FC, Pontefract Colliers FC, Clitheroe FC, Leek Town, Marske United and South Shields.

• Pitching In Isthmian League

Canvey Island FC, Carshalton Athletic FC, Hastings United FC, Merstham FC, Whitstable Town FC, Three Bridges , Tooting & Mitcham United , Enfield Town and Ramsgate.

• Pitching In Southern League

Barnstaple Town FC, Basingstoke Town FC, Coalville Town FC, Corby Town FC, Dorchester Town FC, Gosport Borough FC, Hendon FC, Merthyr Town FC, Metropolitan Police FC, Poole Town FC, Redditch United FC, St Ives FC, St Neots Town FC, Taunton Town FC, Weston-SuperMare FC, Winchester City FC

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