“KEEPING KIDS IN THE GAME”

The 2010/11 Christchurch earthquakes and the subsequent impact on people’s lives were the catalysts for Mainland Football to initiate a New Zealand wide football fundraising effort.

On behalf of Mainland Football, New Zealand Football (NZF) initiated an earthquake appeal which initially raised over $67,000, with initial donations being received from Japan Football Association, Oceania Football Confederation, NZF and Central Football Federation.

Mainland Football is grateful to a number of other NZ football organisations and individuals who also made invaluable contributions to the appeal.  As a result, Mainland Football was very proud to launch the Scorching Goal Football Fund in 2012. 

Mainland Football has since made a further contribution of $100,000 to the fund.  Annual fundraising and interest earned will form the basis of grant distribution.

The Scorching Goal Football Fund has been established to assist children and youth attending primary or secondary school, aged between 5 years and 18 years who are from financially disadvantaged families or backgrounds, and where finance is a barrier to participation, either at club level, across development programmes or at representative level.

This is not a fund established to specifically support talented players but is rather about providing children and youth with the opportunity to continue to participate in football.

Each year Mainland Football will endeavour to run a specific fundraiser and will continue to seek other donations to ensure it does not exhaust its start-up fund equity.

We understand;

  • That football talent exists across our Federation and we want to ensure opportunities are provided to players who otherwise may miss out.
  • The need for kids to “fall in love” with football and not to be denied opportunities to do so through no fault of their own.
  • The health and well-being advantages of having thousands of healthy active football kids.                                 

 The opportunities provided through direct funding may assist with the following;

  • Club fees
  • Club uniforms or players gear
  • Representative Tournament Fees incl. Futsal  or National Age Group Tournaments
  • Federation Talent Centre or National Talent Centre fees

OUTCOMES OF FUND ESTABLISHMENT 

  1. To enable more children and youth to participate in football through reducing financial barriers.
  2. To build a sustainable long-term football fund that supports thousands of Federations players for many years to come.

To download a Scorching Goal Application Form CLICK HERE 

The criteria for a Scorching Goal Football Fund Grant includes the following:

  1. Children and youth must be aged between 5 and 18 years old at the time of application. The applicant’s immediate parents/caregiver are unable to support the applicant by meeting necessary related costs to enable participation in football activity.
  2. The applicant must attend be attending primary or secondary education and must be registered or intending to register at an affiliated Mainland Football club.
  3. The completed application is genuinely in aid of assisting participation in football which would not otherwise take place.
  4. Given the number of applications received, it is advisable that, applications submitted which provide evidence of financial hardship will stand a greater chance of being accepted. This may be by way of supporting documentation.

Applicants may apply for assistance for the following;

  • Football club fees for grades mini football and higher and either
  • Club uniforms or players gear; or
  • Representative tournament fees; or
  • Federation Talent centre/programme fees; or
  • Futsal Nationals: ASB Junior Festival and Youth Champs only

Applications for Club fees will be considered separately from Club gear, Tournament or Programme applications although you may apply on the same form, at the same time.

Applicants may apply for assistance with one of the following; Club gear OR Federation programmes (eg FTC) OR Tournament fees OR Futsal Nationals in any one calendar year.

Decisions on applications are at the discretion of the funding committee. Decisions on applications will be advised two weeks following the close off dates listed below. There will be no other considerations outside of these dates for this fund.

The application due dates for 2020 are

Tuesday 31 MarchThursday 30 AprilTuesday 30 JuneMonday 31 AugustFriday 13 NovemberThe application must meet the due date and no applications will be reviewed if received after the due date until the following due date.

No more than 50% of the total cost will be paid, with the maximum amount for each category being:

$70 for Club Fees$50 for Club Uniforms and Gear$200 for Representative Tournament Fees OR Federation/National Talent Centre Fees OR Futsal Nationals OR National Age Group TournamentPlease note that GST does not apply to Scorching Goal Football Fund grants.

The fund committee is entitled to pay out more than 50% of the total cost if substantial hardship is proven to be directly related to football and enables the participant to participate otherwise.

Applications must be received on a Scorching Goal application form by the due date (Tuesday 31th March, Thursday 30th April, Tuesday 30th June, Monday 31st August and Friday 13th November).

Applications must be completed in full and supported by an independent person who can verify the need for financial assistance. All Grants are at the Committees discretion.

N.B. Given the number of applications received,  applications submitted must provide evidence of financial hardship (ie Winz documentation on income/bank statements/payslips) is required.  

CLICK HERE to download an application form.

Forms can be posted to:Scorching Goal Football FundC/-Mainland FootballPO Box 21122Edgeware 8143or scanned and emailed to [email protected]

An application must be supported by an independent person who can verify the applicant’s need for financial assistance. This person may be:

  • A club committee delegate
  • School principal
  • School sports coordinator or teacher
  • Church minister
  • A representative of a government or support agency such as WINZ
  • Any other person deemed appropriate by Mainland Football

Coaches will not be accepted as supporters of applications.

Special Applications will be considered by the committee for special cases that occur outside the usual application timeline and where delaying the application until the next round would cause either undue hardship or the opportunity to be lost.

There must be relevant circumstances that prevented the applicant from applying within the normal timelines eg. a late call-up to a tournament team.

To apply as a special application, complete the process as per a normal application and attach an accompanying letter requesting your application to be considered as a special application and outline the reason why.

The following conditions apply to Scorching Goal Football Fund Grants.

  1. Grants will be paid directly to the club or provider of the programme by way of direct credit or credit off the programme fees.
  2. Withdrawal from a programme will result in a pro-rata reimbursement of the grant back to the Scorching Goal funding pool. For example, if a grant recipient withdraws 75% of the way through a programme, then 25% of the grant will be allocated back to the funding pool.
  3. Withdrawal from a tournament will result in a full refund of the grant back to the funding pool.
  4. All applications are processed by the Scorching Goal Football Fund committee.Mainland Football reserves the right to seek further clarification from the person supporting the application in order to make their decision.Successful applicants will receive a letter by email or post with details of their assistance within 2 weeks of the closing date.N.B. Given the number of applications received, it is advisable that, applications submitted which provide evidence of financial hardship will stand a greater chance of being accepted. This may be by way of supporting documentation.
  5. Unsuccessful applicants will receive a letter by email or post with details of their outcome within 2 weeks of the closing date.
  6. Mainland Football will not enter into correspondence where an application has been declined.
  7. FOR FURTHER INFO

        Email: [email protected]        Post: Scorching Goal Football Fund, Mainland Football, PO Box 21122, Christchurch 8143