Southend United Community & Educational Trust (SUCET) is set to benefit from a brand-new community hub at Roots Hall, following the receipt of a £17,200 grant from the Premier League Fans Fund.
The grant will enable SUCET to regenerate and develop an area of Roots Hall car park, known as ‘Community Corner’, launching on Saturday 7th March for Southend United vs Bristol Rovers.
The hub will be open on every home matchday from 7th March onwards and will provide fans with a range of pre-match activities in the build-up to kick-off, such as live music, face painting and gaming. There will also be several partner community organisations in attendance to engage with fans from all generations.
Outside of matchdays, SUCET will also be launching new outreach sessions to educate children on the history of the club and encourage younger fans, particularly those from under-represented groups, to take advantage of the newfound opportunities available at Roots Hall.
The Premier League Fans Fund is a commitment from the Premier League to fund projects and organisations which improve the relationship between fans and their clubs, the way football supporters engage with each other and fans’ experience of the game.
Dale Spiby, CEO of SUCET, said:
“We’re really grateful to the Premier League and Football Foundation for funding Community Corner – an innovative new approach to enhance the fans’ matchday experience.
“It’d be great to see as many Southend United fans as possible at Community Corner before each home fixture.
“We’ll be engaging with local schools to inform them about Community Corner, handing out junior supporter packs containing key information about how to become a Southend United fan.”
For more information on the Premier League Fans Fund, please visit www.fsif.co.uk/funding/premier-league-fans-fund.
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