THE October 31 deadline for the Budweiser Club Futures programme is fast approaching, and completing your club's application in time could prove to be just as important as any last-minute-winner.
If your club is in Steps 5-7 of the English Football Pyramid, applying by this date could be the golden ticket to a potential £150k. If it's facilities improvements your club is after, along with a chance to become more financially sustainable, then this is the grant to apply for!
Non-League clubs are the heartbeat of many local communities and the breeding grounds for up-and-coming footballing talent. It's for this reason FA Cup sponsor Budweiser is injecting £1million over two years into the ‘grassroots' of our beloved game.
The initiative will help to fuel this grassroots support giving 16 grants of £50,000 to Non-League clubs across steps 5-7 of the English Football Pyramid over the next two years.
Applications, submitted online at thefa.com/budweiserclubfutures, are being accepted up until October 31, 2012. This season will see eight grants of £50k given away to help transform part of a grassroots club. And exactly the same will happen next season.
Above: Sir Trevor Brooking and Iain Newell, Budweiser European Marketing Director.
The good news doesn't stop there. One club each season will be in with a chance of winning a ‘Super Grant' which will top their funding up by £100k to £150k!
Next month Budweiser will be announcing the eight winners and fans will be able to find out more about each club and vote for one club to win this Super Grant, through dedicated spaces on the Budweiser and The FA Cup facebook pages.
Having launched the programme with Sir Trevor Brooking and The FA back in August, Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew was recently announced as the ambassador for Budweiser Club Futures.
Alan knows all about the importance of grassroots football, the manager currently guiding The Magpies through Europe is not far removed from the man who plied his trade as a glazier, whilst playing for Non-League Whyteleafe and Epsom & Ewell. 
Not only is Alan the face of ‘Budweiser Club Futures' but he will also be on the judging panel to decide which clubs are going to take home the grants.
Best of luck to all the clubs that apply. To find out who the first eight winning clubs are for this season, look out for further news in The Non-League Paper.
We'll also be taking a closer look at each club, which could help you decide who you want to win the Super Grant. Fans will be able to vote for the Super Grant winner at www.facebook.com/BudweiserUK and www.facebook.com/TheFACup from January 2013.
