Published: 12:06 EST, 8 November 2023 | Updated: 12:07 EST, 8 November 2023

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]]]]>]]>Former England star Emile Heskey tried his hand at walking football as the English Football League and Sky Bet launched a groundbreaking PS6million fund to boost clubs' work in the community.

Heskey visited League One club Barnsley on Wednesday as the EFL and their title sponsor Sky Bet unveiled the Building Foundations Fund.

Each of the 72 EFL clubs will have the opportunity to bid for grants of up to PS100,000 to invest in their existing community initiatives or to set up new ones.

With Sky Bet pledging PS1m per year from the current 2023-24 season, it is the largest multi-year sponsor-backed fund devoted entirely to community work.

Legendary broadcaster and Sky Bet ambassador Jeff Stelling will select the winning bids across a range of categories, with each of the 72 EFL clubs getting an initial PS10,000 to spend.

Former England striker Emile Heskey tried his hand at walking football on a visit to Barnsley

Ex-Leicester and Liverpool frontman Heskey gave his verdict on his walking football session to Mail Sport after he stepped off the pitch in South Yorkshire.

'It's fun but frustrating! It's the first time I've tried it and it's very tough. I was always wanting to run into the channels, that's my natural instinct,' Heskey said.

'This fund is huge and we need funds like this to make a difference. Having played with these guys today, it's fantastic to have had the opportunity to play in these games and see the impact.

'You only have to look at the positive outcomes, bringing people together and helping people.

'We know sport has a major impact on heath, fitness and how you feel. Having these events will be fantastic for local communities.'

Heskey joined EFL chairman Rick Parry and Sky Bet managing director Dan Colton at Barnsley's 3G pitch see how the walking football club - an existing community scheme for over 35s - will benefit from the 2023-24 funding.

Blackburn Rovers plan to use the initial PS10,000 to grow its 'Remember the Rovers' programme which holds weekly sessions at Ewood Park, bringing people living with dementia together, who may otherwise be in social isolation, through the power of footballing memories.

Stelling said: 'Everybody knows my love of the English Football League. I also know all too well how lower league clubs and the communities around them struggle for financial support.

'I'm delighted to play a part in the Building Foundations Fund and I truly believe it presents a great opportunity to make a real difference.'

Heskey, EFL chairman Rick Parry and Sky Bet's managing director Dan Colton visited the Barnsley Community Trust's walking football session on Wednesday

The EFL and Sky Bet agreed an extension earlier this year that saw the sports betting brand continue as the League' title partner until the end of the 2028/29 campaign. The commitment to a community fund was an integral part of the extension agreement.

Dan Colton, Managing Director, Sky Bet said: 'We're incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership with the EFL - it's a relationship that has gone from strength to the strength over the past decade and we wanted to raise the bar further still with the Building Foundations Fund.

'The Fund is a core pillar of our new agreement with the EFL and we're very excited to see the impact the PS6 million will have on such important projects across England and Wales.'

Over the 2021-22 season, EFL Clubs generated more than PS865m of social value to towns and cities across England and Wales.

For more information about the Building Foundations Fund please visit www.efl.com

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