Chris Davison oversees junior football at 'The Stan', who have made effective use of a grant from the Trident Community Fund

A junior football coach at Heaton Stannington has heralded the transformative impact of a community grant that has allowed dozens of children to engage with the sport.

Chris Davison, Head of Junior Football at the Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division side, has overseen the investment from the Trident Community Fund over the last year and has grown the club from five teams at its launch in 2023 to dozens of sides.

The creation of the Mundial Academy was one such area of growth, delivering football sessions to young children to encourage greater engagement with the sport for those less confident about playing.

Davison said: “What we've tried to create is something for everybody under one roof. The funding has enabled us to start a Saturday morning club for players who don't necessarily want to compete just yet, but they want to dip their toe in the water and get into football at some capacity.

“What that does is create a pathway for players who just want to start at the very beginning and not be thrown in the deep end. They can gradually move through into a team, whether that be non-competitive or competitive.

“That infrastructure has now been established, which is huge because if we look at it like building a house, we’re starting at the very beginning at the foundation phase, that's our five and six-year-olds, and then they move on into the development phase. We've been able to now build that with structured coaching and that's then led on to a holiday club.”

The Trident Community Fund was launched in 2020 by Northern Premier League partners Pitching In and offers grants of between £1,000-£5,000 to clubs at Steps 3 and 4 of the non-League pyramid to grow and expand community projects. More than £750,000 has been awarded to clubs across the country and The Stan, who recently appointed Andy McBride as their new men’s first-team manager, hope their impact locally will continue to go from strength to strength.

Davison said: “We've been able to hire the facilities longer and been able to bring coaches in. It's not just about developing the children, either.

“We've got 93 voluntary coaches within the junior section of Heaton Stannington. A lot of coaches are students, some are retired. So we have said we have these opportunities here during the holidays. It's not huge money, but it has made such a massive impact. The amount of money is tiny compared to the impact that it's made.”