INVITATION TO SUBMIT AN EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
CITY OF FOOTBALL
Football today
Football is by far the most popular team sport in England. According to the latest available figures1, on average just under 1.8m people played
football week in, week out in the last year. However, that represents a decline in regular participation of nearly 300,000 from the same point 12
months ago.
Football is still a predominantly male sport, with over 90 per cent of the weekly players, but women and girls’ football is a significant team sport
in its own right, with over 116,000 weekly players in the last year. The major recent decreases have come in the men's game with a smaller drop
in the women's game.
Unlike some other traditional sports, football is played in big numbers in many different ways, from the structures of formal, 'serious' competition
to the self-organised kick about.
Five- and six -a-side (small sided football) is now the preferred form of the game for more than 50 per cent of men and women, with more
playing that way than the traditional, 11-a-side game. Major efforts have been made in recent years to stop the decline in the traditional 11-aside game which has been driven by a range of factors including lifestyle changes, family pressures, increasing costs and pitch access and
quality. However, recent losses in regular participation have affected all forms of football.
What is our aim?
Sport England is seeking Expressions of Interest (EoI) from consortia representing cities where there is a shared vision to work together to
encourage more people, especially young people aged 14-25, to play football regularly. Up to £1.6million of National Lottery funding will be
available to the single successful consortium in one city.
To achieve this it is critical that we select the right city, with the right partners. The successful city consortium must be prepared to create a
meaningful partnership around a shared vision, and then create and implement a plan to get results. At this stage we are not looking for project
plans, just for a commitment from all the partners providing football in the city to do whatever it takes.
Why a consortium?
Football is played in many forms by both men and women; competitive / non-competitive, 11-a-side / small sided, old / young, serious / fun, on
many different types of facilities. We want to increase the number of people playing the game in all of these ways, so we need a partnership that
covers them all as much as possible.
Active People Survey, October 2012-October 2013 – 1,838,600 achieving at least 4 sessions of football
in the last 28 days (“1x30” measure)
1
We believe a city-wide consortium is the way to deliver a different approach to grassroots football opportunities and achieve maximum impact.
We want to partner with a consortium that understands all different forms of the game are equally valid, and can appeal to the widest possible
local audience that might want to start playing, or play more. This may mean developing a new partnership in the city or building on something
that already exists.
What are we looking for from a consortium?
Once you have a feel for who the key local partners are, it is important that one partner takes the 'lead' for the purpose of pulling together the
EoI. There are no templates to complete; we are simply looking for submissions by way of a letter from a 'lead' partner setting out their rationale,
i.e. why they wish to be involved and listing each partner who wishes to join the consortium.
Each potential consortium partner should also set out their own reasons for wishing to be involved, which should be submitted with the letter. We
accept that as thinking evolves and a plan is created there may well be a change in partner involvement as the partnership builds.
If there are existing working arrangements between some, or all of the partners, details of these should be included in the submission.
We accept that for a new consortium relationships may take time to fully form, especially where a formal, contractual relationship may be
eventually required. We will provide consortia which are invited to submit a more detailed proposal with assistance to facilitate and support this
development process.
Membership
The right consortium will bring together senior executives from organisations in the public, private, community and voluntary sectors to work
together to deliver a positive change in the delivery of football opportunities throughout the city.
A consortium is likely to have a mix of organisations, with a minimum of the local authority, the professional football club(s), the county football
association and small sided commercial operators.
Other partners might include higher and further education, a local development trust or other interested parties from the community and
voluntary sectors. Although this is not purely about FA-affiliated football, we are interested in hearing the voice of local community football clubs
in the consortium.
This suggested list is not exhaustive, but the consortium must convince that between the partners it can cover the whole range of football in the
city, and between them reach an even bigger audience.
Consortium checklist
The aim of this checklist is to help potential consortia consider what will make a successful partnership:

It can display both an understanding of current issues affecting football participation locally and that working together in partnership is
more effective than working individually to tackle the issues.

It has a strong commitment from each partner to partnership working. Examples can be provided of current collaborative work, ideally
between one or more of the proposed partners.

The partners are prepared to enter into a formal working relationship around an agreed shared vision, such as creating a Special Purpose
Vehicle.

It can demonstrate an appetite and ability to challenge current norms, embrace change and innovation allied with the ability to deliver
results. Examples of any behavioural change activities that partners have been involved with along with outcomes achieved would be an
advantage.
City-wide impact
The successful city will be large enough to be able to measure the impact of change via the Active People Survey (APS), but not too large to
prevent the creation and implementation of a single, cohesive plan covering all parts of the city.
We have a strong preference that the 14+ population of the right city will be greater than 200,000 people. This is to ensure that there is a
significant population in the target group of 14-25 year olds which is the dominant market for football participation.
We do not wish to see bids across a larger geographic area or combined bids across two or more cities.
Bidding Process
We will use a two- stage process to select one city:
Stage 1 – initial Expression of Interest from interested consortia.
Stage 2 – formal submission and interview.
In Stage 1 we are looking for consortia to outline their rationale for why their city is the right choice and to outline their current working
relationships, along with how they would work with any new partners to help them deliver an increase in football participation.
More detailed funding and legal information will then be made available to those selected to submit a detailed application. We anticipate that
three-four 4 bidders will be invited to submit a more detailed application. To assist this stage of the process we will provide insight and data we
hold on each area, some of which can be found at:
http://www.sportengland.org/our-work/local-work/local-government/local-sport-profile/
We will also help facilitate the development of a clear and simple vision and desired results.
How will we select preferred bidders?
We will assess and evaluate expressions of interest against the strength of your proposed partnership, understanding of current issues and
local landscape.
Monitoring & Evaluation
We will use Active People Survey data to assess the full impact, supplemented by both quantitative & qualitative information to be agreed with
the successful consortium. Bidders invited to Stage 2 will be asked to participate in creating those additional measures of success.
Timescales
If you want to be considered we need to receive your EoI by no later than 12pm on Friday 23 May 2014. Please submit your EoI electronically
to funding@sportengland.org.
Once received, we will assess your EoI and we may arrange to come and see you. Following which we aim to inform you of the outcome as
soon as possible.
We intend to announce a shortlist of three or four successful bidders to go to Stage 2 by Friday 6 June 2014. We will then offer shortlisted
consortia some support to explore in more detail their potential to be the chosen City of Football.
Other Information
At this stage we are not seeking any detailed work such as a strategy, delivery plan or indeed a detailed bid developed by a consultant. We are
interested in whether local partners have the desire to come together and work collaboratively to increase participation in football.