Entain : and the Pitching In Trident Leagues Announce Community Foundation Grants to 19 Football Clubs

28 February 2022

Entain and the Pitching In Trident Leagues Announce Community Foundation Grants to 19 Football Clubs

The Entain Foundation and the three Pitching In Trident Leagues (The Isthmian, Northern Premier and Southern Leagues) are pleased to announce their latest round of grants from the Trident Community Foundation, to clubs across England and Wales.

Entain became a founding partner when it helped to establish The Trident Community Foundation ("TCF") in December 2020, as part of the Foundation's Pitching In grassroots sport investment programme. The TCF enables clubs to engage in a wide range of vital community-based projects and invest in their local areas.

In total 19 clubs have been offered grants of up to £5,000 each from the latest round of allocations, with a focus on strengthening community relations. Successful projects include; programmes to enable disadvantaged children to participate in football; community fitness clubs; walking football for older generations; first aid and steward training; youth development schemes and; mental health support.

The latest wave of grants builds on the 27 projects that were funded in 2021-22, the first season the TCF was in operation. The Entain Foundation provides £150,000 each year to support the TCF each year which is in addition to its overall sponsorship of the Pitching In Trident Leagues, which goes towards the Leagues' operational costs.

Pitching In ambassador Stuart Pearce knows all about the value of the non-league community from his early days at Wealdstone and hopes this will be the springboard for a vast array of projects to take off. The former England skipper, said:

"These clubs play a vital role in the community, promoting health and wellbeing. The initiatives being supported by the Trident Community Fund show the true meaning of Pitching In and will further strengthen the bonds between the clubs and their communities. I would like to congratulate those who have been successful - and this is just the start. I look forward to seeing these initiatives come to life and more ideas come in."

In a joint statement, Pitching In Southern League vice-chairman Anthony Hughes, Pitching In Isthmian League chairman Nick Robinson and Pitching In Northern Premier League chairman Mark Harris said:

"We are delighted to receive the continued support of Entain and its Foundation which enables our clubs to play an active role in their communities, making a full contribution to the wellbeing of their local areas. This is a truly groundbreaking partnership and we have an exciting range of projects that we are supporting."

Pitching In spokesperson and Entain's Head of ESG, Jay Dossetter added:

"Our ambition for the Pitching In sponsorship of the Trident Leagues is to make a real difference to community-based and grassroots sport, and the Trident Community Fund is the perfect vehicle to deliver that. The variety and quality of the projects the TCF are funding is inspiring to see."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Pitching In Trident League clubs who have made successful application for TCF grants are:

Club	Project
Ashton United	Creating opportunities for disadvantaged children and youngsters to engage in football.
Basford United	Increasing fitness and participation within local Community, attracting children of all multi-cultural backgrounds.
Bridlington Town	Bridlington Town Sporting 'Seasiders' Memories group supporting older people, family and friends living with or supporting others with dementia, depression and loneliness.
Colne	Encourage children (boys and girls) to try goalkeeping through dedicated sessions.
Shildon	Community engagement during school holidays, support to unemployed and homeless.
Brightlingsea Regent	Walking football
Canvey Island	Sociability - football for children with physical & mental disabilities
Kingstonian	First aid and Steward training
Lancing	One-to-one mentoring programmes
Whitstable Town	Youth development centre set up in school holiday time, free session to encourage attendance
Worthing	Three-year project to develop a sustainable "Girls & Women's' pathway for the Community of Worthing
Lymington Town	Establish Youth Club to provide safe-haven for 13-15 year-olds at the club.
Kidlington	Football Coaching sessions to schools and children in the community. To target lower income families.
Taunton Town	Structured programme of engagement, involvement and participation.
Colney Heath	Host community football tournament during Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Frome Town	Promotion of diversity and inclusion using football as an audience for late teens and young adults.
Alvechurch	Commence Walking Football team for over 60's.
Royston Town	Mental health education for children, aged 8-12.
Swindon Supermarine	Promote awareness of Samaritans services to local community and provide practical mental health support.

Media Contacts

Entain plc Jay Dossetter, Head of ESG and Press Office Jodie Hitch, PR Manager	[e-mail] [e-mail] [e-mail]

About the Trident Community Foundation
The Trident Community Foundation has been set up by the three Trident Leagues (the Southern, Isthmian and Northern Premier Leagues) and Pitching In (set up by Entain to provide grassroots sport investment). The 245 football Clubs playing in the three Trident Leagues will be able to apply for grants of up to £5,000 to help fund a variety of different community-based projects. David Emery, editor of the Non-League paper, is the Independent Chairman of the TCF Board. The TCF Board will include representatives of the three Trident leagues and two representatives from Entain plc.

About the Trident League Partnership
The Pitching In Investment Programme has become the Official partner of the Northern Premier, Southern and Isthmian Leagues which make up the Trident leagues at levels seven and eight of the English football pyramid (steps 3 and 4 of the National League System) in a multi-year agreement

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, Bet.pt, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Neds and Sportingbet; Gaming Brands include CasinoClub, Foxy Bingo, Gala, Gioco Digitale, Ninja Casino, Optibet, partypoker and PartyCasino. The Group owns proprietary technology across all 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 a joint venture with MGM Resorts International creating a leader, BetMGM, in sports betting and iGaming in the US. Entain provides the technology which powers BetMGM and exclusive games and products, specially developed at its in-house gaming studios. The Group is tax resident in the UK with licenses in a total of 27 regulated markets. Entain is a leader in ESG, a member of FTSE4Good, the DJSI and is AA rated by MSCI. The Group has set a science-based target, committing to be carbon net zero by 2035 and through the Entain Foundation supports a variety of initiatives, focusing on safer gambling, grassroots sport, diversity in technology and community projects. For more information see the Group's website: www.entaingroup.com