The Northern Ireland Football Fund Grassroots Facilities Programme Pilot Stage
Supports investment in grassroots football facilities across Northern Ireland to improve availability, accessibility, and quality.
Apply on the funder site- Amount
- Amount on request
- Scope
- All Northern Ireland
- Deadline
- 15 April 2026
Who can apply
CASC, Sports Club, Community Group
What is funded
The Northern Ireland Football Fund Grassroots Facilities Programme Pilot Stage The Grassroots Facilities Programme Pilot Stage forms part of The Northern Ireland Football Fund, a long-standing Executive commitment to invest in modernising our local footballing infrastructure. The programme The Programme aims to support investment in Grassroots Football Facilities across Northern Ireland. While the Department for Communities develops the full design and scope of a long-term programme, a Pilot Stage is being introduced. This Pilot Stage will enable the Department to explore demand and better understand the needs and challenges at grassroots level. Importantly, the Pilot Stage gives applicants a direct opportunity to influence the future design of the Programme. The experience, feedback and outcomes from participants will help the Department learn what works best in practice, and shape how the long-term Programme operates. Who can apply Applications to the Programme will be made and assessed in two separate streams: Stream 1 Stream 1 is open to: Grassroots Football Clubs who are the Owner of the Grassroots Football Facility or Grassroots Football Clubs who intend to become the Owner of the Grassroots Football Facility prior to the issue of a Funding Agreement. and The Owner of a Grassroots Football Facility in partnership with a Partner Grassroots Football Club Stream 2 Stream 2 is open to: A council which is the Owner of a Grassroots Football Facility to which the application relates and; A council which is the Owner of a Grassroots Football Facility to which the application relates applying in partnership with a Partner Grassroots Football Club. Objectives The main objectives of the Grassroots Facilities Programme Pilot Stage are to: increase the availability of facilities to support current and future participation, especially for women and girls improve accessibility of facilities for disabled users upgrade and enhance the facility to develop a safe, inclusive and attractive venue provide an insight into the diversity of need across the grassroots sector, gaining an understanding of demand and assessing the capacity of applicants to deliver projects effectively test key aspects of the Programme design to inform the development of the main Programme How to apply All applications must be submitted on the Citizen Space Portal. Stream 1 Grassroots Football Clubs’ applications must be submitted through the Citizen Space Portal which can be found on the Stream 1 – Grassroots Facilities Programme (Pilot) page. The closing date for receipt of completed Stream 1 applications is Wednesday 15 April 2026 at 5pm. Late applications will not be accepted and will be automatically rejected. Stream 2 Council applications must be submitted through the Citizen Space Portal. Details for Stream 2 will be emailed directly to the councils. A link to this portal will be emailed to each of the councils via their Chief Cultural and Leisure Officers Association (CLOA) representative. If you are a council and have not received the email, please contact TNIFF . FULL DETAILS: The Northern Ireland Football Fund Grassroots Facilities Programme Pilot Stage | Department for Communities
Criteria and guidance
Applications must be submitted via the Citizen Space Portal. Stream 1 is open to grassroots football clubs that own or intend to own the facility, or owners in partnership with a club. Stream 2 is open to councils. The closing date for Stream 1 is Wednesday 15 April 2026 at 5pm.
Listings are scraped from funder websites and can be incomplete or out of date. Always confirm amounts, deadlines, and eligibility on the official page before you apply. Last indexed 19 Aug 2026. Amounts are in pounds sterling (£).