SUFFOLK TV GIRL SUPPORTS GRASSROOTS INVESTMENT FOR REGION AT SCHOOL PROJECT LAUNCH

Sky News and TalkSport presenter, and Football Foundation ambassador, Georgie Bingham, will visit Kesgrave School in Suffolk to promote the work of the country’s largest sports charity in her home county.

Georgie, who will be presenting the Paralympics on Channel 4 later this summer, will join pupils and staff at the school on Friday 29 June at 2pm to officially launch the start of work on a new floodlit third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch that will be used by the pupils in the day and the wider community at night.

The project was made possible after Kesgrave School worked in partnership with the Suffolk County FA to secure a £306,000 grant from the Football Foundation.

The pitch will be supported by existing changing rooms, which are in excellent condition, and a car park newly built to enhance the community use of the site. The project fits with a number of local, regional and national strategies and is fully supported by the Suffolk County FA who see the site quickly becoming a hub for football in an area of high participation within the County. 

Since the Foundation was set up in 2000 it has worked closely with the Suffolk FA to support 135 grassroots sports projects across the county with grants worth £5.9m. These grants have attracted further partnership funding of £8.6m into the area’s grassroots.

Georgie Bingham said: “As someone who has been passionate about sport it is always good to see first hand the great work being done at grassroots level. While I now work at the elite end of the game, I developed my love of sport during my school years in Suffolk and know the importance of local facilities for local people. There are numerous social and sporting advantages to the type of facility being built in Kesgrave thanks to the Football Foundation. 

“That is why I am an ambassador of the Football Foundation. They are doing great work, not only in Suffolk, but across the whole country. It is really encouraging to see their funding come from the top end of the game with the Premier League and The FA, plus the Government all realising the importance of sport to improve communities and change people’s lives.”

As the UK’s largest sports charity, the Foundation helps improve local sports facilities with money from its core funding partners: Premier League, The FA and Government (via Sport England).

Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: “We are delighted to have Georgie as one of our ambassadors and help promote the work we are doing to improve grassroots sport in this country. The project at Kesgrave School is just one example of the many projects currently taking place across the country and my thanks go to Suffolk County FA and our funding partners the Premier League, The FA and the Government for their crucial support for making this possible.”