Dear Secretary,
I am writing to you in order to bring to your attention an important announcement in terms of funding for the development of football club facilities.
The Sports Capital Programme, operated by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, is the main provider of funding for capital development projects for football clubs and has provided over €110m in funding for the development of football facilities since 2002.
The Department have recently announced that a new round of the Sports Capital Programme will open for applications from 12pm on January 17th 2014.
It is important for football clubs considering an application to note that there are a number of changes from the 2012 programme which are summarised below;
OSCAR
For the first time, applications including supporting documentation will only be accepted online. Applications by post or email will not be accepted and will be returned.
Prior to making an application, there is a need for clubs to register with the Department of Sport’s Online Sports Capital Register (OSCAR) in advance of 5pm on Friday 7th February 2014.
Failure to register your club in advance of this date will prevent your club from applying in this round of the programme.
For more information in relation to registering your club with the Department visit;
http://www.dttas.ie/sites/default/files/corporate/guide-registering-scp-online.pdf
Maximum Grants Available
The maximum grant available for local clubs in this round of the programme is €200,000, however, Regional Facilities such as Regional Development Centres and Airtricity League Grounds can apply for a maximum grant of €500,000.
Clubs without a Lease or ownership of land
If you do not own your land or have a lease of at least 15 years you may only apply for a maximum of €25,000 towards capital works and/or for sports equipment. However, if in 2012 you received a capital grant towards this site, the maximum combined value of grants between the two programmes is €25,000.
Summary of Documents Required
Below is a summary checklist of what supporting documents clubs will need to supply in order to make an application. Failure to supply any of these documents will deem an application invalid.
| Document | Compulsory? |
| Confirmation of RAPID or CLÁR Area status | Compulsory for all applications from designated RAPID and CLÁR areas |
| Quotation/estimate of the cost of your project | Compulsory for all applications |
| Proof of own funding | Compulsory for all applications |
| Evidence of Planning Permission/ Planning Application or
Evidence that planning permission is not required |
Compulsory for all capital (non-equipment) applications |
| Licence Agreements between groups as Evidence of sharing of facilities | Compulsory for all school, Education and Training Boards and 3rd level college applications and for clubs/groups who wish to apply together |
| Evidence of Ownership of site | Compulsory for all applications for capital works where the organisations have chargeable title to their land |
| Evidence of Access to Site | Compulsory for all applications for capital works where the organisation does not have title to their land. You can only apply for a maximum of €25,000 for capital works. |
| No other supporting documents will be considered by the Department, therefore it is not a requirement to seek a letter of support from the FAI for your application, however, in order to allow us to be in a position to support your project directly with the Department you are asked to inform the Association of your intention to make an application by emailing the details to richard.fahey@fai.ie
|
|
Closing Date
The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday, 28 February 2014. The online system will be shut down at this time exactly and no late or partial applications will be accepted. If you have not clicked the “save and submit” button on the final page of the application form by this deadline your application will not be considered. When you have submitted your application you are strongly advised to save and/or print a copy of the Grant Application Submitted page. You may need this later as evidence of making your application.
Applications by post or by email will not be accepted and will be returned.
For more detailed information about the Programme and making an application you are strongly advised to download the form below;
The FAI’s Facility Department can be contacted directly in order to provide advice and guidance on making an application. For further information contact;
richard.fahey@fai.ie or fergal.dignam@fai.ie
Alternatively, you can visit the Facility Development Section of the FAI website via the following link http://www.fai.ie/football-services-a-education/facilities.html in order to review some of the valuable information and resources available.
Yours sincerely
_________________________
Richard Fahey
Director of Club Licensing and Facility Development
