BRIGHOUSE Town are among those who will be in line to receive support from GVC Holdings' new Pitching In programme, which will try to help Isthmian League, Northern Premier League and Southern League clubs through the Covid-19 pandemic.

The official Pitching In ambassador is none other than former England international full-back Stuart Pearce, who won 78 caps for his country.

As for how this new programme will work, each of those leagues mentioned above will take the Pitching In title, and in return the leagues and their clubs will receive financial help.

The partnership also wants to focus on volunteers getting involved with their local football club and community.

In a statement on their website, GVC Holdings said: "GVC’s Pitching In is a major new multi-million-pound investment programme designed to support and promote grassroots sports.

"The programme launches at a time when football clubs and sporting organisations are facing the unprecedented impact on their finances of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Launched in September 2020 by the GVC Global Foundation, the multi-million-pound, multi-year, investment programme kicked off with a flagship partnership with The Isthmian, Northern Premier and Southern Leagues.

"These are collectively known as The Trident Leagues – which make-up levels seven and eight of the English football league pyramid."

The statement added: "The Trident Leagues, which trace their roots back to the 19th century, are at the heart of the national game.

"They have 226 clubs (rising to 240 clubs in 2021) and 15,000 players registered across the three leagues in the many villages, towns, and cities of England and Wales, bridging the gap between the professional and recreational football worlds.

"The partnership, which sees each of the leagues take the Pitching In title, will deliver vitally needed financial support, as the leagues seek to cope with the consequences of the Covid-19 lockdown, which saw the null and voiding of the 2019/20 season.

"In addition to financial support, a key focus of the partnership is to facilitate and encourage community volunteers to do some pitching in of their own, and contribute their time and effort.

"A Pitching In volunteering scheme will be established to link UK based GVC colleagues with their local clubs to further strengthen community ties."

Speaking about his role as ambassador for the programme, Pearce said: "I am delighted to be taking up the role of ambassador for Pitching In, as I’m passionate about the importance of investing in grassroots sports and in developing young talent.

"I started out playing for Wealdstone FC before joining Coventry City so I understand how important funding is to the non-league game.

"Grassroots football is facing huge challenges at the moment and many clubs are struggling to stay afloat.

"GVC’s Pitching In investment will help make a big difference to hundreds of clubs and thousands of players across the country."