Kent Reliance and Kent FA launch local partnership to support amateur football teams across the county.
Kent Reliance has been unveiled as the new sponsor for the Kent FA’s grassroots football County
Cups for the 2013-2014 season.
The Kent Reliance County Cups will be contested this season by teams outside the non-league
system; grassroots clubs which include pub teams, works teams and village teams.
Grassroots football is at the heart of the game in Kent, with amateur teams playing in Saturday
leagues with the traditional 3pm kick-off, or on Sunday mornings. The Kent FA runs six County Cups
for grassroots teams; three for clubs playing in Saturday leagues and three for clubs in Sunday
leagues.
Football keeps people active and healthy, and Kent as a county boasts some of the highest numbers
of people playing football in the UK with over 1,200 adult male 11-a-side teams playing every week.
This form of the game, however, has seen a steady decline across the country in recent years. This
is a result of longer working hours, lack of availability of pitches and facilities and a decline in councilrun
fields as well as other changes in social patterns, and the reduction in playing numbers is
something the Kent FA have been working to stop.
It is this threat to grassroots football participation that Kent Reliance want to address, and this
partnership will include chances for competing clubs to win Nike equipment and footballs, bursaries to
cover affiliation fees and cup entries, and rewards for teams reaching the finals of the Cups.
Paul Dolan, Chief Executive of the Kent FA, explained the benefits of the partnership; “All our
commercial partners have a vested interest in grassroots football, and Kent Reliance is very keen to
invest in adult 11-a-side football, which is the heart of the game in this county. We’ve been supporting
adult 11-a-side football for many years and at the moment our focus is on working with local
authorities, who are facing significant budget cuts, to protect and improve adult football pitches. Kent
Reliance’s generous sponsorship of this competition will allow us to go further and reward the clubs
who take part in these Cups, and give something back to the people who play 11-a-side adult football
every week.”
Andy Golding, Chief Executive at Kent Reliance, commented: “The grassroots football County Cups
are a fundamental part of the local sporting landscape. By working with the Kent FA to support the
competition, we hope to inspire adults across the county to get fit and help communities come
together through football. We very much look forward to celebrating the successes of Kent’s amateur
football teams over the coming months.”
The Kent Reliance Saturday and Sunday cups will kick-off in October.