GRASSROOTS football in Blackburn is celebrating a huge funding boost with the confirmation of a £200,000 grant.

The cash coup, secured by the East Lancashire Football Development Association (ELFDA), means work can start on transforming facilities at Wooldridge Playing Fields in Pleckgate.

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The group teamed up with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council to win the money, which is provided by The Power to Change – an independent charitable trust set up with £150million of National Lottery funding.

ELFDA chairman Bill Maynard said: “This is a major boost, especially to the junior leagues. The game is growing so fast for both male and females. We need better facilities.

“This funding will provide those, building a legacy for football in this area.”

The ELFDA was formed when three leagues – the Blackburn Sunday Football League, Blackburn and District Football Combination and East Lancashire Football Alliance – got together to address the problems of poor pitches and declining numbers.

Bill explained: “Pitches were in such a poor state and we were losing teams.

“We had a meeting with the council and they had no money available, so we started working together to identify problems.”

The £200,000 will go towards the £560,000 needed to make the Wooldridge site suitable for soccer after more than a decade of neglect.

Local residents have been consulted, car parking organised, and there are also plans to improve the changing facilities.

Bill believes the project could even have wider-ranging influence, by providing a blueprint for other leagues to follow.

He added: “We tick all the boxes with the Football Association and we now have a template that can be used all over the country.

“We have worked with the council and that has to be the way forward.”

The development is just in time to support the explosion in women’s football on the back of the recent World Cup.

Bill said: “The performance of the England team means young girls want to be involved in football.

“We have spoken to Blackburn Rovers Ladies about the possibility of them playing at Wooldridge.”