Enfield Town have faced a year like no other in 2020 but help could soon be at hand thanks to the Trident Community Foundation.

Pitching In Isthmian League clubs such as Enfield now have the chance to apply for grants of up to £5,000 to help establish community-focused projects with the aim of developing young talent, promoting non-league football to a wider audience and attracting volunteers.

The Trident Community Foundation has been founded by a combination of Entain’s grassroots sport investment programme, Pitching In, and the three Trident Leagues – The Isthmian, Northern Premier and Southern Leagues.

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, has donated £150,000 to establish the TCF Fund for distribution over the remainder of the 2020/21 season and the project has the firm backing of Pitching In ambassador Stuart Pearce.

“Initiatives like this are close to my heart as I am proud of my non-league background,” said Pearce, who began his career with Wealdstone before going on to win 78 England caps.

“Non-league clubs are the hubs of their communities and people have connections to these clubs going back generations. Bringing people together, especially in these fractured times, is vitally important and initiatives such as this will help do that.

“The timing is absolutely spot on. The true mark of help is when people really need it – and the football community at this level really needs it.

“I look forward to seeing the projects that get off the ground as a result of the Trident Community Foundation.”

Following a simple application process, potential projects will be reviewed by the TCF board – which will be chaired by David Emery, editor-in-chief of The Non-League Paper and consists of three Trident League chairmen and two Entain representatives.

Isthmian League chairman Nick Robinson is part of the TCF board and hailed “a great, innovative way of involving our clubs in community projects.”

“In the past, clubs may have come to us with a community idea and we’d have had to turn it down,” Robinson said.

“Now we can help as there is funding available and a simple application process which we will guide the clubs through.

“It’s a genuine partnership and I am delighted to be part of it.”