Welcome to the latest edition of my weekly column on the Northumberland FA website.

There’s plenty of news for me to get through this week and I’d like to start by focussing on our second Youth Football Blackout Weekend, which is set to take place throughout the county on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th February.

After consulting with local authorities and our affiliated leagues and clubs, we unanimously agreed that these Blackout Weekends would be a welcome addition to the grassroots football calendar. Not only do they give youth teams a break when so many players are unavailable due to school holidays, they also give volunteer coaches an opportunity to upskill or refresh their coaching awards, whilst allowing for minor repairs to be carried out on grass pitches. 

Next week, as well as us hosting three coach education courses, several local organisations – including North East Hearts with Goals, Newcastle Sports Injury Clinic and Goals Newcastle – will be running events with a medical, women & girls and disability theme.  There’s plenty for everyone to enjoy, so CLICK HERE to find out how you can get involved.

Grow the Game is back! The Football Foundation’s scheme, which has benefitted from a £1.5m investment from The FA, is now open for applications. Grow the Game grants help to reduce the costs associated with starting new grassroots football teams by making £1,500 available for each that a club creates, with a particular focus on disability and women & girls teams this year. This is a fantastic opportunity for our clubs to receive some vital funding, so please CLICK HERE to find out more.

Finally, just two weeks remain until our 2018 Pitch Improvement Conference gets underway at Close House Golf Club. Only a limited number of spaces now remain, so if you wish to learn more about grass pitch maintenance and improvement from the industry professions, please CLICK HERE or call 0191 270 0700 to book your place.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

John.

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