London FA and Footy Addicts Announce New Partnership to Boost Grassroots Participation
London FA have entered into an official partnership with Footy Addicts, an application that allows people all over the city to play more football.
There is a growing community of over 100,000 users in London that have signed up and played, with over 450 grassroots games organised every week. Footy Addicts now have an official affiliation with London FA, and they will be working together to make football more accessible for everyone.
Despite football being London’s most popular participation sport, unless you have a team or large group of friends to play with, it is sometimes difficult to find chances to play. Footy Addicts was developed to solve this problem, and makes it more convenient for people to organise, find and play matches. The focus is on participation and enjoyment of the game, creating a welcoming atmosphere for people to play, meet new people and stay healthy. 117,000 games have been played through the platform since its launch, with the vast majority of them in London.
The London FA is responsible for developing and supporting all grassroots football across the capital, and their vision is to harness the power of grassroots football to enrich more lives in the city. They have also recognised the growing demand for shorter, more bite-sized forms of the game. Footy Addicts is now recognised as an official partner for small sided football, which is evidence of this commitment to supporting new models of organising and playing the game.
As well as increasing the opportunity for Londoners to play football, the partnership will also focus on achieving health and community benefits across the city. Grassroots football in such a diverse, international city provides the chance for people to extend their social circles and improve their mental and physical health. The application-based nature of Footy Addicts, their links with local venues and councils, and huge existing London community makes them an ideal partner for the London FA. Furthermore, Footy Addict’s digital features enable games to continue safely with tracked and traced participants, which will help the London FA’s aim to ‘keep football going’ during the ongoing COVID-19 uncertainty.
“After years of building a community of grassroots players and organisers around the city, it’s a real honour to now have an official partnership with London FA,” shared Danny Taiedy, co-founder of Footy Addicts.
“We are excited to explore ways to work together to keep welcoming more players, hosts and venues into the Footy Addicts community”
Neil Twitchet: London FA Head of Delivery, added:
“London FA is delighted to be working with Footy Addicts to grow and develop the football offer across London. The new London FA strategy highlights the importance of growing the recreational game and Footy Addicts are in a fantastic position to deliver a safe, high quality experience
“Footy Addicts, it’s needed in London,” said Daryl, music producer and regular Footy Addicts player. “I don’t think there's a platform like it where you can just go online, find your game and click onto it”.
“It's just casual, you can just go out, there’s no real responsibility or commitment. Lots of people who I hear say ‘I’d love to play’ but don't have the way to. This is the answer” - Joel, hospitality manager.
Footy Addicts are now London FA’s largest affiliated small sided provider, with over 400 teams.
Updates and new initiatives will be announced as this partnership develops, all focused on growing participation and social cohesion in grassroots football.