Find out how your club can obtain new floodlights

The Shared Access scheme is developing well, with over 500 clubs now registered on the scheme.

The FA is encouraging as many clubs as possible to sign up, and subject to being in a suitable location, have the opportunity of either obtaining floodlights or other capital investment projects into your club.

• Does your club ground or facility have a mobile phone operator on site?
• Have you been approached by a mobile phone operator in the past?
• Do you have existing floodlights?
• Do you have planning permission to install floodlights?

If the answer is YES to all or any of the above please complete an enquiry form

If your answer is NO to all of the above and you still are interested in capital investment into your club please read on to find out more. Shared Access will still be interested in you signing up to the scheme.

There has been a lot of talk about 4G auctions recently – the process through which more spectrum is sold by the Government to the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) which allows them to deliver a newer and faster service to customers.

But why does this matter to football clubs? To put it simply, the new spectrum operates at a high frequency and can therefore only travel short distances. As a result, the MNOs need more sites to roll this service out to customers. This in turn means there is increased demand for new site locations which could include football clubs through this scheme.

The FA has formed a partnership with a company called Shared Access who are a leading telecom infrastructure company who build and operate mobile phone sites.

Shared Access have been appointed to market club locations to the MNOs. When a club is selected by the MNO, Shared Access design and build floodlights, or other infrastructure, which enable them to turn the club into a ‘site’ that the MNO can use in its network.

The club gets free floodlights or a ‘capital contribution’ if they already have floodlights, combined with an on-going rent from Shared Access.

We believe that with the new demand of sites across the country the more clubs can benefit from this significant investment.

If you like to find out more please contact The Facilities and Investment Project Officer for the Shared Access scheme via Shared.Access@TheFA.com