All parties must pitch in to stop grassroots football being left in the mud
If you have a son or daughter who plays grassroots football, there's a fair chance that any sign of a bit of rain and you're breaking the news that their match has been called off.
This isn't a new issue but it does feel like it's getting a lot worse with this past winter seeing hundreds of games being postponed becasue of the weather, and it brings a problem that everyone involved in the sport in the city and surrounding areas has to find a solution for, before we end up losing a generation of footballers.
Grassroots football is hugely important. In our region alone it has provided a platform for relatively recent England internationals like Harry Maguire, John Stones, Jamie Vardy, Gary Cahill, Beth England, Ellie Roebuck and Esme Morgan. Not to mention the dozens who have gone on to have a stellar career in the game.
However, it's not just about that aspect because only a very small percentage are going to make it as a professional. This is more about getting young people out in the fresh air, getting them exercise, giving them the structure of a team to play along with and increasing their social skills in a time when young people are becoming more isolated.
Those opportunities are being hampered by the lack of facilities in South Yorkshire. We have one of the biggest junior leagues in the UK here and an top of that a girls set-up of over 300 teams.
All of these clubs are vying for space and it's becoming more and more difficult to provide it because many of the pitches are not fit for purpose.
Council-owned spaces are often particularly poor. They have struggled to keep up with increasing participation, not least the rise in girls football; cuts to services has meant that grounds are being cared for a lot less than they used to be in terms of cutting grass and general upkeep. Then there is the problem with anti-social behaviour, with pitches being churned up by quads and motorcycles, cans and broken bottles being left lying around.
Clubs that own their own spaces also have all of these issues but have to pay for the problem themselves. Further to that, the price of hiring an artificial pitch, if you can manage to find one available, is shockingly and often prohibitively expensive.
With costs rising across the board, it's getting harder and harder to simply get a game of football played. Everyone is short on funds at grassroots level which makes it all the more galling that we are in the country that has the richest football league in the world.
The Premier League is swimming in cash and though they set up a foundation to help communities, it's simply not enough, given the amount of money top flight clubs in England are throwing around.
Everyone has a part to play in giving young people the facilities they need to thrive and it's time that everyone got together to try and find a way of ensuring that grassroots football isn't left in the mud.