Sleaford Town welcome chance to apply for share of £10m grants, with manager Jamie Shaw hoping move triggers debate about long-term funding of grassroots football

Sleaford Town manager Jamie Shaw has welcomed the £10m grants package being made available to non-league football clubs - and hopes it can trigger debate about how to best fund grassroots football in the long-term.

The Greens boss believes the cash being made available for clubs from steps three to six of the National League System can go a long way to helping vital community assets across the country.

"It's got to be a positive and we're obviously grateful we've got the opportunity to apply for it and see where it takes us," said Shaw, who confirmed Town will be filling in the forms in a bid to secure their share of the package.

"I think that it's essential at the moment with the current climate, but perhaps also should be a trigger for what needs to be done to support grassroots football more broadly.

"This is great in that it will stop some clubs going to the wall and have a positive impact on other clubs. But, fundamentally, football under the Premier League isn't sustainable and probably isn't governed in the interest of the overall country as a whole.

"This pandemic, if any good is to come out of it, maybe it triggers conversations about how we generate funds for football through the country."

Clubs in step five, which includes Sleaford, are able to apply for grants of up to £10,500.

Shaw believes this sort of money can play a vital role for the clubs and wider communities.

"I think it's easy to miss out on the massive broader picture," he added.

"Facilities often get used by junior set-ups. One example is that we run a successful junior football club at Sleaford and, you take away the senior team, and suddenly - although I don't think the juniors would stop playing - it takes away a certain aspirational quality to what they're looking to achieve.

"The other factor is that we may find it harder to sustain funding for the pitches as you don't have that trickle down effect.

"We us that facility for Mid-Lincs youth finals. If our club goes bust and that faciltiy is no longer there then teams will have to look elsewhere.

"On the day of the Mid-Lincs finals, pre-pandemic times, I've tried to go down to watch a few games and I've learnt there's no point driving as there's a phenomenal amount of parents and grandparents arriving in cars, and I'd guess a number of those nipped into the town or to the McDonalds at Holdingham roundabout and money gets spent in the local community.

"All these factors, and we've got an older demographic with our supporter base. It may be their real social outlet, their way of keeping in contact with friends.

"The club is its an enormous part of the community and we're proud of that. To lose football clubs would have a big effect."