• Nationwide Building Society awards 50 £1,000 grants to grassroots football clubs
• Awards given out to UK clubs who best demonstrated what mutual respect means
• Junior Reds has been awarded a grant to help the club in any way they see fit
• Over 300 applications received with clubs explaining what respect means to them
Nationwide Building Society has awarded £1,000 to South East London area based Junior Reds football club after it impressed judges in a UK-wide competition built around mutual respect within the grassroots game.
Britain’s biggest building society have partnered with Football Associations across the UK in landmark three-year deals to help foster positivity and respect across grassroots football. The simple aim is to create a society that’s built on mutual respect.
In August, Nationwide committed to donating £50,000 to their newly formed Mutual Respect Grants fund to help support grassroots football. Clubs and teams could apply for one of the 50 grants by explaining why respect is important to their club to be in the chance with being awarded £1,000.
There were more than 300 applications from across the UK, with Junior Reds, who train in South East London chosen as one of the lucky deserving winners.
What does respect mean to Junior Reds Football Club?
In their application they highlighted the continued importance placed in setting the highest standards by their actions and in communication with Club members; with Referees and external Opposition teams. All new members and parents are required to commit to a written “Code of Conduct”. The importance of fair play and self-control is regularly emphasised at training sessions and in meetings. Team Managers are all volunteers and for many years have been welcomed into the Club with regard to their skills in both communicating the “respect” message and adhering to the principals by their actions.
Clive Chivers, Club Chairperson said: “We are really delighted to be recognised by the Nationwide Building Society – a valued supporter of grassroots football – for our continuous work in relation to respect for all in the football community. We work hard in regularly communicating our standards to all.
Emily Barker, Brand Partnership Manager at Nationwide Building Society, said: “Mutual respect is something that we value at the core of Nationwide in everything we do, so to be able to give these grants to the clubs that need them the most and those that themselves have demonstrated respect on and off the pitch is really exciting. We are looking forward to seeing how grassroots clubs put the money to use and the difference it makes.”
