Football Funding

I have a friend whose son is a decent footballer at 10 years old. He plays in the local league (above his age group). Whilst he is never going to be a premier league footballer, it is something that he enjoys and it is a big part of his life.

This is all good.

The English Premier League, the FA, the Champions League and the clubs within the premier league are awash with money. Rolling in it, gorging on it £1.78bn from Sky for 2010-13, spending it lavishly - (Fernando Torres was sold for £50m, that's more than the cost of a School) if not wisely. Paying players £200k a week for goodness sake. In the UK the average price of a semi-detached house is £200k or a week's wages for some footballers.

Now, they all talk about the importance of grass roots football, of putting something back into the game, about the importance of the fans etc.

Bullshit.

My friends 10 year old has to pay about £50 a month for the privilege of playing in a local league. £12.50 a week to cover training sessions, matches etc. this is not an inconsiderable sum. It excludes many and discourages others.

We should all be ashamed of this. We bemoan the lack of home grown talent in the Premier League, yet we neglect investment in our youngsters. And these are the children who support the Premier League teams and help fund the players' excessive lifestyles.

So when you hear about John Terry's £4.6m mortgage remember that's about 92,000 children-months of football.