The Football Foundation have launched a free new ‘Groundskeeping Community’ as the first of several support tools to help ground staff meet their grass pitch improvement targets.

The website at https://thefa.hivelearning.com/groundskeeping has been developed in partnership with The FA and the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) to support volunteers and qualified groundskeepers to maintain pitches. It features a welcome message from Karl Standley, Head Groundsman at Wembley Stadium, and the collaborative space will:

* build knowledge of key operations for pitch maintenance throughout the year
* connect with fellow groundskeepers and share experiences
* seek expert advice on getting the most from the pitches groundskeepers manage

Throughout the football season, videos and news articles will be posted related to pitch improvement and local content can be shared promoting the work which is currently being delivered. Since a launch at the recent FA Groundsman of the Year Awards ceremony, a number of groundskeepers and FA Regional Pitch Advisors have already started to interact.

The IOG will be providing a link to the facility on any site visit report and they’ll be adding any information clubs and volunteers will find useful as the website develops. Visitors are also invited to post anything they think may have been missed so a groundskeeping community can be built for collective benefit.

Visit https://thefa.hivelearning.com/groundskeeping to join the Groundskeeping Community. Once registered, the Hive Learning app for iOS or Android is the easiest way to access the community on the go. Grassroots football information is also available in the menus above, by following @EssexCountyFA on Twitter and by searching for ‘EssexFootball’ on Facebook.