Hampden Park, the home of Scotland’s national team, proved to be a fitting venue for a landmark evening for Scottish grassroots football recently.

More than 70 people from across sport and civil society came together to attend the Scottish Football Partnership Trust’s first official networking event, which was supported and co-ordinated by ConnectSport partner Altair Ltd.

There was a wide variety of stakeholders in attendance, all united by their passion for the grassroots game and strengthening its infrastructure, and collectively dedicated to unlocking the huge social and economic return that can be achieved by targeted investment.

FOCUS

Post-Covid and in a cost-of-living crisis, that return on investment has never been more important.

So whether it’s increasing participation and physical or mental health and wellbeing in communities and neighbourhoods across Scotland, or supporting projects and programmes which help to prevent anti-social behaviour, crime and unemployment and increase community cohesion, the event helped to bring the Trust’s essential work into sharp focus.

“The key theme was about joining our team and supporting us in our quest to do more for the grassroots game,” explained Sandy Hodge, Chief Executive of the Trust, after the event. “There’s definitely interest from people who want to do that, so we’ll be following up in the coming weeks and hopefully this is the start of a new era where we can grow and expand, and can support the grassroots game to the next level.

“In terms of the future for the Trust, I am optimistic – I think the more people we can tell the story to, the more positive feedback we are getting and I think we will grow and be in a stronger position for the months and years to come.”

As the only charity working closely with sportscotland and the Scottish Football Association to increase investment in community facilities, the Trust plays a crucial role in strengthening the foundation of grassroots football.

With an estimated 3,000 community football facilities across Scotland, ensuring the long-term sustainability of community sports assets is an ever-evolving challenge. The Trust is a charity that brings together large-scale funders to meet this challenge and has recently been working closely with Altair Ltd to diversify its income base and develop a more mixed and sustainable economy of funding.

EXPERIENCED

Altair is a consultancy which specialises in helping socially-focused organisations in community impact, strategy and fundraising. Vastly experienced in housing, education and working with local authorities and charities, it also boasts an impressive portfolio in the sport for development sector through the acquisition of Oaks Consultancy.

Director of Sport Emma Atkins oversees Altair’s partnership with the Trust and, at the event, led an engaging panel session featuring players and coaches including Shelley Kerr, Lee Parker, Billy Davies and SFPT CEO Sandy Hodge.

Emma commented: “It was a brilliant evening at Hampden, and we’re really excited to be working with the Trust to grow its impact across grassroots football and the communities it supports right across Scotland.

“Altair works with over 70 sport for development organisations across the UK alone, supporting their income generation aspirations with great success. Whether its trusts and foundations or wider corporate partnerships, we have a great team of experts who can support with income generation across a variety of sources and also work closely with marketing agencies to activate digital fundraising.

“We all have a shared passion to ensure people can use sport and physical activity as a vehicle for good in their lives.”

To find out more about how Altair could support your charity or organisation, visit altairltd.co.uk or email emma.atkins@altairltd.co.uk

Read more about the Scottish Football Partnership Trust.