A Focus Club is one that has been identified for a clear strategic reason, and one that is committed to long-term junior development. Each Focus Club will be expected to do various things by ECB in return for ECB resources.

• Achieve Clubmark accreditation
• Work with their District Development Group, to ensure integrated community links
• Produce a long-term development plan – to increase capacity and improve quality
• Link with local school and community networks
• Commit to monitoring and evaluation, demonstrating the impact made locally

Working in partnership with key external sports development agencies the ECB, via the County Development Manager network, will be able to offer Focus Clubs dedicated time, expertise and advice to assist in:

• achieving Community Amateur Sports Club status – saving money on rates bills
• achieving Clubmark accreditation
• recruiting key and specific volunteers to help junior programmes
• training/support for coaches, umpires, scorers, groundsmen and other volunteers
• gaining additional support by creating links with local partners
• providing coaches and/or coaching to create partnerships with local schools
• technical advice to help better plan and deliver coaching and match programmes
• technical advice to help better plan and deliver facility improvements
• lobbying key partners to help support activity and/or facility developments
• offering support and advice on raising funds from local and national sources
• providing, where possible, direct funding and or priority for indirect funding

The challenge for ECB and for the critical mass of 1,453 Focus Clubs is to channel its finite resources into building a nationwide network of vibrant, robust and dynamic cricketing communities that offer high-quality junior development programmes for the hundreds of thousands of young players that will be involved.