USA Football and FieldTurf today announced a multi-year partnership to serve America’s youth football community.
USA Football is the sport’s national governing body in the United States, manages U.S. national teams in the sport and is one of 62 national federations spanning six continents dedicated solely to football. FieldTurf is the global leader in the manufacturing of synthetic turf sports fields.
At the heart of the partnership is a new grants program designed to help build more high-quality football fields across the country. USA Football will award $400,000 in grants to municipalities, school systems and tax-exempt youth leagues toward the purchase of a FieldTurf field surface. USA Football will award up to eight Field Building Grants annually, each in the form of a $50,000 credit toward the purchase of a FieldTurf field surface.
Applications are available at http://usafootball.com/grants_and_fundraisers and will be accepted through Aug. 29. Grants will be awarded based on merit and need. USA Football, an Indianapolis-based non-profit organization, leads the development of the game, inspires participation and ensures a positive experience for all youth, high school and other amateur players.
USA Football teaches the game’s fundamentals and inherent values through more than 80 annual football training events and innovative online development resources for youth football coaches and 3 million American children age 6-14 who play in organized leagues. More than 400,000 American adults volunteer their time to coach youth football, advancing youth physical fitness and the sport’s team-first qualities.
USA Football is the only organization in the NFL’s 91-year history to be the official youth football development partner of the league and each of its 32 teams. FieldTurf has installed thousands of football fields at the high school and municipal level throughout the United States in addition to more than 100 football fields for NCAA Division I schools along with game and/or practice fields for 21 of the 32 teams in the NFL.
“Our longstanding commitment toward providing the safest and highest quality football fields for organizations at every level coupled with USA Football’s dedication to the growth of youth football makes this newly formed partnership a major benefit for football organizations in America,” FieldTurf President Eric Daliere said. “Access to high quality field space is an ongoing challenge for the football community.”
USA Football Executive Director Scott Hallenbeck said, “USA Football is pleased to offer significant field building budget relief for leagues and programs that need it most through our valued FieldTurf partnership.”
About FieldTurf: FieldTurf offers industry-leading engineering and manufacturing resources and leads the synthetic turf industry with regard to setting higher environmental standards. FieldTurf is the global market leader in terms of synthetic sports fields with more than 7,000 fields installed.
About USA Football: USA Football, the sport’s national governing body in the United States, hosts more than 80 football training events annually offering education for coaches and game officials, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent nonprofit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL and its 32 teams. USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competition and awards $1 million annually in equipment grants to youth and high school football programs based on merit and need. Endowed by the NFL and NFL Players Association in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson.
