Hundreds of young fans met professional players as applications open for this season’s Kits for Kids grants

Hundreds of young football fans tested their skills and met professional players at Birmingham’s Bullring as part of Severn Trent’s Kits for Kids initiative.

The event involved distributing £80,000 in grants to help 1,000 children’s teams across Birmingham and Coventry kit out for the 2026/27 season.

The event, held beneath a 200-metre washing line pegged with local grassroots team strips, was attended by Nottingham Forest forward Libby Smith, former Birmingham City and Aston Villa midfielder Gary Gardner, and football freestyler Jay Hennicke.

Honouring the volunteers who make it happen

Severn Trent Chief Executive Officer James Jesic said: “Grassroots football plays such a vital role in our communities, and we want to honour the volunteers, coaches, organisers, parents and grandparents who make local football possible.

“We don’t want any young person to miss out on playing the game they love, which is why we’re proud to support 80 teams with grants towards their new football strips for the 2026/27 season.

“The kids I met today really loved the event: they loved seeing the football freestyler and of course meeting Libby and Gary.”

Applications for Kits for Kids grants closed on June 23. Individual teams from clubs in B1 to B37 or CV1 to CV7 postcodes with players aged 16 and under are eligible to apply via the Severn Trent website.

A 2025 Forza report found 72% of grassroots clubs say they lack sufficient funding. Since 2020, Severn Trent’s Community Fund has donated more than £13 million to nearly 1,000 organisations, supporting over 6.5 million people across the Midlands.