Herefordshire Football Association reveal four-year business plan

The local body have been handed £625,000 from the Football Association to invest into the county as part of the four-year sustainable business plan.

That is top of the £321,113 it was handed last year to fund county clubs, which included £96,882 to build new changing rooms at Ewyas Harold and £62,000 to improve drainage facilities at Withington.

HFA Chief executive Jim Lambert says their main target is to sustain the 11-a-side game and are aware that lifestyle changes has meant that not everyone is able to commit to the game as much as they would like to.

"The key aims and objectives are to increase participation and to sustain the 11 versus 11 game, but also to provide options for those who are at a time of their lives where their lifestyles may have changed," said HFA chief executive Jim Lambert.

"People want to play football, but a lot of people work in shifts, which has a huge effect.

"They do not want to commit to playing on a Saturday or Sunday, therefore they need a football fix from a five-a-side team where they can just turn up and play and then go home."

A Seasonal Workers League consisting of 25 minutes each way is one area that the HFA is looking at, as well as expanding walking football in the county, which has already seen teams in Hereford and Ross-on-Wye set up.

"The county demographics show that there is 50% of people aged 45 or older and 25% of them are retired people," said Roger Goodwin, football strategy manager at the HFA.

"We are going to make sure there are opportunities for them to continue to play football."

Areas where the HFA want to increase participation in include the number of female teams, from two to five, and disability sides from nine to 11.

There is also only one 3G pitch in the county at Hereford Academy, but the HFA want to increase that up to three, as well having the number of youth and adult matches officiated by a qualified referee go from its current 83% to 90%.