The Spartans Community Football Academy

 The Spartans Community Football Academy ('Spartans') is the home of Scotland’s best known amateur football team and enjoys a high profile within the City of Edinburgh and beyond. Over the course of the last four years, the community aspects of the Spartan’s work (including work with youth teams and the wider local community) has been consolidated and expanded into a brand new £4.7m Community Football Academy, being run as a Social Enterprise, situated on land in the north of Edinburgh, in the heart of the communities of Pilton and Granton. SIF has provided £900,000 towards the total cost thereby minimising the overall debt burden which is particularly crucial in the early stages of this initiative. The £900,000 investment is a mix of loan and grant.

Since the facility was completed and opened in December 2008 local police and youth groups have reported a huge reduction in call outs and antisocial behaviour. The centre acts as a welcoming place for local young people to “hang out” in the evenings and weekends. The social aims of the project include improving health, reducing crime, providing employment and work based development opportunities and youth football development. 

The opening of the Academy has meant that number of other programmes can be operated from the one location by Spartans staff. These include a whole range of adult learning and literacy programmes, as well as “Kick-Start” programmes run in conjunction with Careers Scotland; work experience placements for young people; local youth group use for events and discos; community meetings and use in conjunction with Telford College. These programmes are all in addition to the regular Spartans FC football teams and coaching programmes which now have a permanent home in fit for purpose facilities. A variety of other programmes are currently in development, covering everything from oral health to a social enterprise laundry service.

For more information on Spartans click here.

“This funding package secures our immediate financial position and allows us to implement our plans for growing the work we do in North Edinburgh. We have over 1,500 people using the Academy every week across a range of sporting and learning activities and we are already delivering real benefits."  Craig Graham, Spartans chairman