Banter aside, this is a good thing for the East Midlands. I'm sure that Nottingham Forest, Notts County, Mansfield Town and even our own Derby County could reap some rewards from this. We are only 15 miles away and have had plenty of Nottingham lads progress through our academy.
Good as this might be though, the game at grass roots level has been under invested in for years on end.
I will make an example of my youngest son aged 10 and what he had to go through to make it into a squad for this season.
Firstly towards the end of last season he went to training sessions for one of the local clubs in Lincoln. North Lindum Hawks are one of a few clubs within our area that cater for under-11's to play the game.
He then attended all open training sessions held on Saturdays throughout the summer. He was lucky enough to be accepted into the team and now trains on a Friday night and plays on a Sunday.
Simple you might say! Well not quite! There were more lads wanting to play for the team than places available. Also, it comes at a cost! Eighty pounds a season plus a pound a week for training and then the travelling costs for away games.
The team play in the Mid-Lincs League and are in the top division. There's a few sides who are only a few minutes away. A handful play in or just outside of the city. There are, however, a few journeys of 30 miles or more. Retford who are in Nottinghamshire have just moved up a division adding to the travelling costs.
I will do everything that I can to help my son enjoy the sport, but the cost of playing for some families is prohibitive! Especially in times of austerity.
Team kit is supplied, but there is the added cost of boots which have a short life with a growing lad, pads, trainers or astro turf boots for the winter sessions on 3G pitches.
The cost of some of today's boots is shocking! Up to £100 for a pair of fluorescent coloured Nike's made in some third world sweat shop! Luckily my son is more than happy with £30 Puma Kings.
The game has got to be made more affordable for youngsters and it needs re-introducing into our schools as a main activity! My sons school does very little football. In over a year he's had a tournamount and that's about your lot!
In the days of massive wages and impending financial fair play regulations which look like bringing in millions through fines with non complying clubs, isn't it time to out more money back into the game at the entrance level.
Players earning mega bucks could contribute more through a grass roots tax! FFP fines could be passed on to boys and girls clubs!
Football is a simple game and should be available to everyone to play, but currently we aren't serving our future generations very well.
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