Grassroots football pitches have become 19% more expensive to hire in the Midlands over the last five years according to an investigation by Birmingham Eastside.
Since 2019, the average cost to hire a council-owned pitch per game has risen from £34.36 to £41.10 in 2024. The figures were compiled from Freedom of Information requests to all local authorities in the West and East Midlands.
David Vickery, assistant manager to Lye Reserves Women and life president of Wordsley Wasps FC has worked within the grassroots game in the West Midlands for over 25 years. He has seen first-hand the impact of increasing costs at grassroots level.
“We used to play on council pitches but with the lack of funding, they have just deteriorated to the point where they are not fit to walk dogs on.”
Instead, Lye and many teams across the Midlands are now opting to hire private pitches, but that too comes with challenges:
“We have to hire private school pitches, but they have recently gone up by about 15% because they are run by companies who price it as they see fit.
“Back in the day people did it for the love of the game, but today everybody is in it to make a profit and the shortage of pitches means people can charge whatever they want.”
The price of hiring some pitches has more than doubled since 2019
The biggest increase in the five-year span were “Grade B” pitches (the second-best maintained behind “Grade A” pitches) owned by Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council.
The cost to hire these pitches became 58% more expensive, rising from £37 per game in 2019 to £63 per game in 2024.
Over the last 12 months costs have risen by an average increase of 4%.
The largest increase was in North Warwickshire Borough Council where “Junior” pitch prices rose from £22.50 per match in March last year, to £28 in March this year — an increase of 24%.
Renewed Government funding could prove crucial in preserving the future of the grassroots game
With Government funding set to expire in April 2025 concerns have been raised about support for the grassroots game.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy confirmed the Government’s intention to continue funding into the grassroots model, as well as an ambition for local teams to be “able to own their pitches”, as opposed to relying on rental fees.
The statements come at an important time for youth sports, with data showing less than half of UK children are meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines for physical activity.
A report from Sport England revealed that “Those from the least affluent families are the least likely to meet the CMO guidelines, with only 44% reaching the recommended activity levels compared to 55% from more affluent families.”
“I still can’t see it getting any better”
David Vickery says rising costs affect single-parent families the most.
“We have a good bunch of parents, and if they can’t afford to pay their sub fees, we let the kids play, but not all clubs are like that.
“We need to remember it is for the kids, to bring them out of their shells, and not for the hierarchy to make a profit.”
He remains unconvinced that the state of the grassroots game will change for the better in the coming years.
“I still can’t see it getting any better. You can never stop the public from walking their dogs on council pitches that aren’t up to standard. Schools will continue to get grants for 4G pitches and then charge a fortune.
“There are too many teams and not enough quality pitches. Soon, the game will be only for kids with rich parents.”