A FOOTBALL charity has been handed a funding boost to help kick-start the redevelopment of their training facilities.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has awarded £23,000 to The Princes Park Youth Football Charity, in Hendon, which will go towards replacing the artificial pitches and floodlights at its base in Cool Oak Lane.

The sports ground, which also features a pavilion with changing rooms, is run entirely by volunteers and offers football about 350 people aged six to 20 from the area.

Jon Bell, chairman of the charity's executive committee, said the mayor's grant is one of five helping to pay for the £83,800 project.

He said: “We are not just about football, it is about youth development, special needs training, working with police on crime prevention and events involving community work.

“The money will help us continue doing what we are doing as a youth development charity with the focus on football.”

Mr Bell said the improvements could lead to them offering training opportunities for disabled athletes from across London.

He said the charity is developing a disability strategy aimed at providing paraplegic facilities.

“We are looking to work with other sports agencies so they can use our site on a basis that helps them,” said Mr Bell.

“It would support our aims and I think it would be very useful for any organisation wanting to come in.

“The site is primed and ready to help people with their training needs but we don't have the staff to train them. We don't know exactly what we can do for them, but I know we have got some great facilities that someone can come along and use.”

The money comes from the Playsport London Facilities Fund and is designed to benefit new and improved sports facilities ahead of the 2012 Olympics in the capital.

Mr Johnson said investing in projects across London and increasing capacity of existing venues would help address the “imbalance” between the demand for facilities and the availability of places.

He said: “We are fast approaching the final furlong in the build up to the 2012 Games and we want to harness this magnificent opportunity to improve sporting facilities throughout Barnet and encourage many more people into sport for generations to come.

“By working with local organisations, we aim to get inert Londoners off their sofas and involved in a range of activity, and to achieve a true Olympic and Paralympic legacy.”