Pools pour £920,000 into SFL

THE Scottish Football League continued to buck the recessionary trend yesterday when they announced a three-year partnership with the New Football Pools worth almost £1 million to their 30 member clubs.

In a wide-ranging initiative entitled Fit for Football, Fit for Life, the 920,000 payment from the Pools will be mainly used to support under-17 and under-19 development at SFL clubs.

The scheme will also deliver alcohol awareness training and heart screening programmes with the donation of a defibrillator to every club in the SFL.

"In these difficult times, it is always nice to have a good news story," said SFL chief executive David Longmuir.

"This is a significant investment from the New Football Pools over the next three years and will build a foundation through youth initiatives to promote health and well-being.

"We believe this new community citizenship programme will bring a renewed focus to community football and will allow our clubs to continue the many excellent community programmes already in existence."