People often wonder where all the money in football goes. There is an assumption that it is largely directed into the big clubs who then pay high wages and spend loads on transfers.

However, the Football Foundation is something very different.

It is a separate body which gets funding not just from the Premier League but also the Lottery.

What it does is help out minor clubs.

I remember actually opening a new pitch, which these days is called 3G and is a mixture of real grass and the old fashioned all-weather surface, with floodlights, at a school in Winchester which not only benefitted the school itself but could be used in the evenings by the local public.

Having been an ambassador for the Foundation for a while now I get a copy of what they are doing each month.

I have to say a couple of interesting things popped up recently.

The last month was not necessarily as high in activity as it normally is. In fact, the highest donation was to a club in Lincolnshire for £500,000. The second was just under £400,000 for another club in Lincolnshire.

Of the 12 county FA s mentioned there were another two from Suffolk and two from Dorset. The others were spread around from as far down as Plymouth up to Cheshire.

I would like to stress this because I very rarely see anything in Hampshire.

If it is because amateur clubs are not too aware of this I’m not sure.

But if they have a problem with a surface to play on, for instance, or with their dressing rooms, they should put in their application and I’m sure the Foundation will look into helping out.

The smallest amount this month was for just under £13,000 for Blandford United FC in Dorset to cover a stand and build a footpath.

The other interesting thing was that I actually got a call from one of the full-time staff at the Foundation to inform me that a London journalist would like to talk to me about not just their work but also Special Olympics, which I am President of in Great Britain.

The reason being that the Foundation had given just under £250,000 to a non-league side called Bottersfield Town up near Scunthorpe to create a new site.

After it had been done they were contacted by a local lady who had a son with Down’s syndrome.

She asked if her son and others could practice football on the new pitch.

It was all agreed but the interesting and amazing fact is that three months later they had a full team which is playing competitive games and is now preparing to represent Special Olympics in the next British games which are to be held in Liverpool in 2021.

This is how a lot of the money is spent in what I’m sure everyone will agree is the right direction.

I hope that the people who work so hard at these amateur clubs realise that there is help out there if they want to make enquiries.