ENFIELD Town vice-chairman Paul Millington is relishing the prospect of a brighter future after the club received a game-changing cash injection.

The Trident Community Foundation, established by landmark grassroots sporting investment programme Pitching In, provides grants to clubs that allow them to shape and develop their own future.

Like all sports clubs, Enfield Town’s last 18 months have been thrown up into the air by the detrimental impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

And Millington outlined just some of the areas of the community that Enfield’s grant will benefit.

He said: "The grant that we’ve received will be applied to several activities which actually cover quite an extensive age group.

“At the younger end, we are providing coaching sessions to a local secondary school who teach children with learning and physical disabilities.

“Over a 14-week period coaching sessions, that will cover around 100 pupils and be given as weekly sessions – starting in September.”

Work on the club’s community arm has been something Enfield have worked on tirelessly over the years.

And the benefits of investing in the local community are clear for Millington.

"We’ve been working on our community arm for a number of years but it started to take off around 2019, just before the pandemic,” he added.

“We’ve seen the benefits that it brought, particularly with some of the coaching with children who have disabilities.

“It brought the children together but also their parents and it means that a lot of these children get the opportunity to get out and do some exercise.”

Pitching In is a multi-million-pound grassroots sport investment programme set up by Ladbrokes with the support of its owner Entain.

After dealing with the fallout of the pandemic and the impact upon the club, Enfield are looking forward to enjoying the football season, with the club’s eyes now set upon the light at the end of the tunnel.

“We’ve been fortunate that the club itself has been able to receive grants through the Football Foundation which has kept us going effectively,” said Millington.

“It’s helped us meet the date to pay bills, but obviously it’s been a tough time.

“But I think due to those grants, we are coming out on the other end and I’m looking forward to seeing a complete football season for the coming year.”

With the new season firmly at the forefront of Millington’s mind, the vice chair is optimistic of a positive campaign.

He added: “Our ambition is always to go as far as we can.

“We’ve managed to get to the playoffs on one occasion and be there or thereabouts, so we want to give another push and hopefully get promoted.”

Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain, has launched a multi-million pound investment programme, Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sports. For more details see: https://entaingroup.com/sustainability/pitching-in/