IT’S often a winning formula.

The team does well and others, particularly the young, are inspired to take part and strive to emulate their heroes.

That’s no doubt part of the consideration behind the application by several bodies in Southampton who have applied for funding from the Government to support grassroots football.

Southampton City Council, along with the city’s two universities and other bodies, are seeking to win a grant of £1.6m to underpin resources for the game at a truly local level.

For the city council that would hopefully mean upgrading some of their public facilities where, as this paper pointed out two years ago, pitches and support structures have suffered as cuts have taken their toll.

And no one can deny that Southampton is at the centre of a football revival at present. With the city team Southampton FC (Saints) riding high in the Premier League and sending three players to Brazil with the England squad, there is much excitement. At a local, level, Sholing FC lifted the FA Vase trophy at Wembley only last week.

But there is only one trophy to be won in the bid for extra resources. Just one city will lift the £1.6m pot. Southampton do not start as the underdogs in this tournament and may just lift the silver.