• On Saturday 1st December, Luke Pollard MP attended Plymouth Argyle’s FA Cup Second Round tie at Home Park as part of the Football Association’s (The FA) #FootballFootprint campaign. 

• Luke sported rainbow shoe laces during the visit in support of the national Rainbow Laces campaign which promotes LGBT+ equality within sports.

• The FA has increased its investment into grassroots football this season which includes a doubling of the FA Cup prize fund, benefitting clubs at every stage of the competition.

Including increasing community facilities funding by £9million a year and participation activities by £6million a year.

On Saturday, Luke Pollard MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport visited Home Park to support his local team, Plymouth Argyle in their FA Cup Second Round match against Oxford United.

Luke met with our very own Paul Morrison and Bernard Leach, Chief Executive and Chairman of Devon FA to learn more about how FA and Devon FA investments are widening grassroots participation and improving facilities in his constituency.

In a pitch-side presentation at half time, Luke was presented with a Grassroots Champion award by Bernard to recognise his support for the grassroots game in Plymouth.

This is part of the new #FootballFootprint Campaign that is being run by The FA, the not-for-profit national governing body for the game in England, in conjunction with local County FAs. The campaign is giving MPs an opportunity to meet with the army of workers and volunteers that make grassroots football possible at a local level and to visit showcase sites, initiatives and matches that have benefitted from recent investments. 

During the visit, Luke donned rainbow shoe laces to show his support for the Rainbow Laces campaign which promotes equality for LGBT+ players and works to remove homophobia from the game. This year the campaign received overwhelming support across the country with 23 County FAs taking part, with over 15,900 pairs of laces distributed across 111 leagues.

Luke Pollard MP said:

 “I was honoured to step on Home Park’s hallowed turf this afternoon to receive the FA’s Grassroots Champion award. Grassroots football is a great way of bringing the community together and it is essential that we continue to invest in the game at all levels here in Devon.

“I was also proud to be wearing rainbow laces in support of LGBT+ players. It is an issue close to my heart and we should be doing everything we can to make homophobia in sport a thing of the past.”

CEO of Devon FA, Paul Morrison, said:

“We are thrilled to see Luke recognised as a Grassroots Champion as part of the FA’s #FootballFootprint campaign.

“It’s so important for MPs to support grassroots football here in Devon, so they can understand how our staff and army of over 5,000 volunteers support the 32,000 players in the county.”

view the fa #footprint for devon here

Left to Right (Paul Morrison DCFA CEO, Luke Pollard, Bernard Leach DCFA Chairman)