Whether we like it or not, the game of football is a part of our national life and our most popular spectator sport. Such is the popularity of football, that the recent World Cup in November and December has been credited with enabling the UK to maintain economic growth in November; news which seemed to disappoint those whose modus operandi is pushing negativity and talking our country down for their own political gain.
At professional level, while our home club of Crawley Town look like they are fighting for survival in League Two for the rest of this season, we shouldn’t forget where they have come from. I remember them back in the 90s always being in the league below the Conference, so being consistently in the football league since 2011 has been a huge achievement. Long may they stay there. Our top Sussex team of Brighton & Hove Albion are having an incredible season, beating Liverpool 3-0 last Saturday and moving up to 7th in the Premier League.
Professional football is great to watch, but it is grassroots level that ultimately sustains the game as a whole and which almost 1.5 million people in England play at least twice a month. Unfortunately, last weekend, all bar two pitches in Crawley were unplayable due to being waterlogged. It has been very wet although Crawley Town’s home match against Doncaster was the only match in League Two postponed due to the conditions. The Council are looking at trying to improve drainage at several of the pitches it maintains, which will hopefully reduce the number of times they are unplayable.
Grassroots football is a constructive team activity that has many benefits, worthy of being supported. It’s great to see that up to a further £168 million will be invested into facilities in England by 2025 to improve and upgrade pitches and facilities across the country, on top of a continued £18m annual commitment. It will be delivered by the Football Foundation, which is a partnership between the Premier League, The FA, and the Government’s department of Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS).
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
18th January 2023
