-
Casinos for you
Entain's Donations to Grassroots Football Tops £1 Million
By Jeff Osienya Aug 15, 2021 IndustryAfter just 9 months of forming the Trident Community Foundation (TCF) with the Three Trident Leagues, Entain’s cumulative contributions have surpassed a million pounds. Entain was also the biggest GambleAware donor for Q2 2021 after contributing £2m.Entain PLC announced late last week that it had boosted its support for grassroots football (soccer) clubs by ‘Pitching In’ another round of funding worth £150,000 ($208,000) to the Trident Community Foundation (TCF). With this new contribution, the total amount of money that Entain has pumped into the TCF has surpassed the £1 million mark, which translates to over $1.386 million.
Based in the Isle of Man, Entain is one of the world’s largest sports betting and gaming operator behind leading gaming brands such as Coral, Bwin, Sportingbet, Ladbrokes, and PartyPoker. The TCF is a flagship partnership project formed by Entain and UK’s Trident Leagues via the Pitching In program launched by the Entain Foundation (formerly the GVC Global Foundation before the company’s rebrand) in September 2020.
Three Trident Leagues (Pitching In Southern Leagues, Pitching In Northern Premier, and The Pitching In Isthmian) composed of about 245 grassroots clubs run the TCF fund. The main objective of the TCF fund is offering grants to member leagues in a bid to improve, develop and support the effectiveness of community programs. The TCF also provides financial assistance to the football clubs to help see small and medium-sized projects through.
A 10-Figure Milestone In Less Than 10 Months of Supporting Grassroots Football
Entain was also one of the founding partners of the TCF when the organization was formed in December 2020, and at that time, the gaming giant contributed £150,000 as an initial donation. Since the TCF’s formation, the funding that Entain has forked out to the initiative has been used to make grants to 27 clubs in the 2020-21 football season. Some of the community projects that have benefited include health and wellbeing for youngsters aged between 5 and 16 years, expansion of girls’ football, coaching, and development of infrastructure for football clubs.
After Entain announced its new billion-pound achievement, Stuart Pearce, the Pitching In ambassador, shared a few words saying:
Quote“The new “Pitching In” investment couldn’t come at a more challenging time for the grassroots football community. Non-league football clubs faced unprecedented effects on their finances from the Covid-19 pandemic, and many clubs continue to struggle to stay afloat. Entain committing to further funding of non-league teams will make a big difference to hundreds of clubs, thousands of players, and hundreds of thousands of fans across the country.”
It’s worth noting that Pearce is the former captain of England’s football team captain, and he was also the manager of Great Britain’s men’s football team at the 2012 Olympics. In addition, Stuart Pearce has also played in different English football clubs such as Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, both of which he managed later in his career. In his briefing, he added that:
Quote“The Trident Community Foundation demonstrates the true meaning of Pitching In and strengthens existing bonds within communities across the country. I look forward to seeing non-league clubs thrive so that the future generation of football fans can experience and enjoy the game at grassroots level.”
Following Entain’s £1 billion funding feat, the top-brass of the three Trident Leagues – Nick Robinson (chairperson, Isthmian), Mark Harris (chairperson, Northern Premier) and Anthony Hughes (vice-chairperson, Southern League), said in a joint statement:
Quote“The Trident Leagues are delighted with today’s announcement of the next round of funding from the Trident Community Foundation. This latest phase of Entain’s Pitching In grassroots and non-elite sports investment programme is critical for the future of non-league football. Our clubs are at the heart of their local communities, and this funding will provide them with the means to strengthen those links.”
Entain Leads the Gaming World in Donating to GambleAware
Entain is going all-in when it comes to supporting charitable initiatives to help the community at large. Last month, GambleAware – UK’s autonomous, grant-making charity institution for gambling harm prevention and treatment disclosed that between April 1st and June 30th (Q2 2021) 2021, Entain donated a total of £2 million.
All gaming license holders in the United Kingdom are required to donate 0.1% of their annual gross gambling yield (GGR) directly to GambleAware. Meanwhile, gaming companies whose annual GGR is less than £250,000 are required to donate at least £250. Other license holders who contributed substantial sums to the organizations include Videoslots, One Click, and STS.BET, with £50,000, £22,800, and £22,000 worth of donations, respectively.
You might also like