Birmingham County FA Agree Partnership With Rigby Taylor

Birmingham County FA (BCFA) is pleased to announce a new formal partnership with Rigby Taylor, which will see both organisations working closely together to support grassroots football clubs with the improvement and maintenance of their natural turf pitches.

This joint partnership will offer a wide range of benefits for the improvement of natural turf pitches to over 12,000 clubs across the Black Country, Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire.

BCFA has enjoyed an excellent working relationship with Rigby Taylor for several years, and the evolution of a formal partnership between the two organisations is an important step towards improving grass pitches within the county.

For over 100 years Rigby Taylor has developed an innovative and industry-leading range of products, supporting clubs from the Premier League through to grassroots and supply a wide range of products and programmes available to suit all surfaces and budgets.

Birmingham County FA has been actively striving to improve grassroots football pitches across the county since 2014, when the Pitch Improvement Programme started. Throughout that period, Rigby Taylor working with BCFA and Kevin Duffield, the regional GMA advisor, has supported many grassroots football clubs across the region, supplying grass seed, fertilizer, chemicals and line marking products and paints.

Joe Robinson, Facilities and Investment Lead for Birmingham County FA stated: “The excellent working relationship we have enjoyed with Rigby Taylor will support our Pitch improvement Programme, providing clubs with support on maintenance and management practices, advice, guidance and funding, all with overriding aim of improving natural turf pitch playing surfaces. Nationally, The FA is looking to ensure that 5,000 grassroots football pitches are assessed as good or above by 2024.”

“BCFA and its member clubs have made some great strides in recent years with regards to improving natural turf surfaces, and further supported by the BCFA’s own Pitch Improvement Fund. Grassroots football clubs who manage and maintain their own facilities are now able to access significant funding from the Football Foundation and the BCFA to support them with improving their grass pitches on an annual basis...”

He continues, “We offer each club a structured, staged maintenance plan. Stage one covers grass length and pitch aeration. Stage two covers thatch and weed control, and stage three covers the use of a specific grass seed and fertiliser programme,” he says.

Joe added: “The BCFA Pitch Improvement Fund includes investing in appropriate pitch maintenance equipment and contractor services and for this we can call upon the support of Campey Turf Care and Lakeside GM.”

According to Joe, “The educating of club volunteers vitally important too in that Club volunteers understand the basics of grounds management such as what products to use and when to use them to improve and maintain good standards. Some volunteers have fully accepted the GMA’s Level 1 Football Grounds Maintenance and the Level 2 Winter Pitches courses and this has helped them understand the basics of grounds care.

For example, a programme may include the sowing of R11 Germin-8T treated 100% Perennial Ryegrass blend, selected for its fast establishing, hard wearing, high density characteristics, a Selective Herbicide such as Crossbar and nutritional inputs from a Convert controlled-release granular fertiliser, Microsol soluble fertiliser, Seaweed Products, Compact Organic Turf Supplement, and Maintain NT Growth regulator. Such a programme will resulted in significant pitch improvement.

Clubs are also able to access funding to invest in core products too, such as grass seed, fertilizer, chemicals and line marking products and specific environmentally friendly options as well in line with the BCFA’s new ‘Save Today Play Tomorrow initiative. This is where our partnership with Rigby Taylor can really support clubs, ensuring that they invest in the most suitable products for their surface and budget and club ethos. Our objectives are to develop this partnership and collectively work towards the improvement of as many pitches as possible across the county.”

Phil Dewhurst, Rigby Taylor’s Regional Sales Director, said: “As a company we have for many years supported grassroots football and partnered with The FA in their national Pitch Improvement Programme. Working with the BFCA, the plan is to also host workshops, which will be attended by Rigby Taylor’s regional technical team and visits will made to clubs to discuss the recommended treatment, advise on product benefits and can, if required, carry out a pH test and nutrient analysis – which often leads to a customised programme to suit each site.

This initiative with the Birmingham County FA is exactly what grassroots football is all about, with a County FA and a supplier working together as partners to directly support member clubs with the aim of improving the quality of grass pitches and therefore ultimately the quality of the football being played.”

To benefit from this partnership between BCFA and Rigby Taylor, please contact www.birminghamfa.com/leagues-and-clubs/finance/grants-and-funding or Rigby Taylor on 0800 424 919.