Severn Trent’s Community Fund is backing young football players and local communities with a new community initiative that will see £80,000 donated to 80 different grassroots football teams across Birmingham and Coventry.

The ‘Kits for Kids’ campaign, which is launching this week (13^th May), will give each successful team £1,000 towards their new football kits for the 2026/27 season.

With 72% of grassroots football clubs saying they don’t have enough funds to keep activities going^[1], Severn Trent’s Community Fund hopes it will help encourage more children to play at their local clubs, feel included and support families with rising costs. 

Teams based in the B1 to B47 areas in Birmingham and CV1 to CV7 areas of Coventry with players 16 and under, are all eligible to apply.

Applications are open until 21^st June, and managers can apply through the Severn Trent website.

Dele Adebola, former Birmingham City and Coventry City striker, said: “I was fortunate enough to make it as a professional footballer and do something most children dream of. Through my work now in grassroots sport, coaching and supporting young people, I’ve been able to see firsthand just how important these teams are to children and their families. We want to encourage as much participation in sport as possible, and the Kits for Kids initiative is a great way to support families who may be put off their children joining clubs due to the cost.”

Paul Evans, Community Lead at Severn Trent, said: “Football brings people together, and in Birmingham and Coventry it’s at the heart of so many communities. We want to help give more children the chance to get involved, feel part of a team and enjoy the game they love. Kits for Kids is about supporting local clubs so they can continue to do what they do best – creating opportunities for young people and getting more children on the pitch. This initiative is about making sure more children can be part of that, especially those who might otherwise miss out because of cost.”

Kit for Kids is focused on supporting teams in Birmingham and Coventry in its first year, with the initiative designed to learn what works best and grow in the future before rolling out even further across the region.

As an added boost, Severn Trent will also be giving away one additional kit to a team in the wider region, with the winning team selected through a random prize draw as the company looks to give a team outside both Birmingham and Coventry support for the new season.

Visit the Kits for Kids page on the Severn Trent website and submit your postcode into the checker, if you’re ineligible for the main giveaway, you can fill in a form to submit your entry.

For full terms and conditions, visit the Severn Trent website.

Severn Trent’s Community Fund has donated over £800k across Coventry and Warwickshire and £2 million across Birmingham and the Black Country since 2020 to support local charities and community groups. By 2030, the Community Fund will have donated over £20 million across the entire Severn Trent region. For more information visit www.stwater.co.uk

ENDS

• The Kits for Kids applications are only specific to Birmingham and Coventry as Severn Trent explores the initiative on a trial basis in its first year, before hopefully opening it up to its whole region in the future.
• To apply, please visit the Severn Trent website, to apply you must:
  • Be the manager of the team, at under 16 age or below (parents are not eligible to apply, the application must come from the manager)
  • Be based (teams’ location) in the B1-B37 or CV1-CV7 areas of both Birmingham and Coventry

[1] The FORZA State of Grassroots Football Report 2025 | Net World Sports