COWLING Football Club have been awarded a £3,500 grant to erect pitch barriers.

The money, from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, has reduced damage to the pitch from vehicles that use the pitch as a car park during the off-season, plus sponsorship boards are now available to purchase.

The Skipton Body Repair Centre Craven League club worked in partnership with the West Riding County FA to secure the grant.

Cowling FC's secretary Jamie Abbott said: "The Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund have made a long-term ambition for the club achievable.

"As a self-funding organisation, a lot of hard work and dedication from the committee has allowed for the club to develop by holding numerous fund-raising activities.

"The barriers will prevent damage to the pitch throughout the year, allowing for us to provide more opportunities for local players to play football.

"A special thank you also needs to be made to 'Mr Cowling' himself (Martyn Dalby), Aire Valley Auto Paints, HA McEwen Ltd and Pinnacle Building Contractors, who have supported the club massively with the project.”

Paul Thorogood, chief executive of the Football Foundation, said: “I am delighted that a grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund has enabled Cowling Football Club to install their pitch barriers. This development will provide a real boost to football in the local area.

“Since 2000, the Football Foundation has supported grass-roots projects worth more than £1.3bn, investing in areas where the need is greatest and where it will have the biggest impact in terms of getting more people playing football and a wide range of other sports.

“With this funding, provided by the Premier League, The FA and the Government through Sport England, we are helping to improve community sports facilities across the country and thereby the playing experience of those who take part.”

The Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund is funded by the Premier League, The FA, and the Government, via Sport England.

It is delivered by the Football Foundation, the country’s largest sports charity.

Since it was launched in 2000, the Foundation has awarded around 15,000 grants worth more than £580m towards improving grass-roots sport, which it has used to attract additional partnership funding of over £800m – over £1.3bn of investment into the grass-roots game.

By providing more high-quality facilities, coupled with coaching at the appropriate age group, the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund aims to improve the experience for regular players as well as attracting new players to the game.

Many of the new state-of-the-art facilities will serve to strengthen the connection between professional football clubs and their local communities, particularly in the most deprived areas of the country, through the professional clubs’ community trusts’ outreach work.