A groundbreaking local newspaper campaign to clean up football – starting at grassroots level – has been picked up by the national press.

Where the Grimsby Telegraph led, the Daily Mirror is following, and showing its commitment to the Grimsby Telegraph’s SOS: Save Our Soccer campaign.

The Telegraph wants to clean up the local game and more than 150 clubs in and around the town have already signed up to the new ‘SOS Code of Conduct’.

The campaign has also spread to Scunthorpe and Lincoln as the initiative picked up momentum across the whole of Lincolnshire.

The Mirror, renowned for its sporting coverage, has launched its own Save Our Game campaign, three months after the Telegraph SOS was launched.

The Mirror is backing the plans of politicians to force the moneymen in the Premier League to redistribute more cash into grassroots football and local communities.

Mirror football writer Alan Nixon said: “There are clubs who spend too much chasing impossible dreams, but there are many more – the heart of the game – who look after their affairs properly and are the lifeblood of a truly national sport.”

The Telegraph’s plans have been backed by governing body FIFA’s chief, Sepp Blatter, and England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Telegraph soccer writer, Stuart Rowson, said: “They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so we must be doing something right!

“The response from clubs in Grimsby has been fantastic and the campaign will soon be stretching into Scunthorpe and Lincoln as the idea catches on. We hope it will spread even further – and the Mirror’s campaign can only help.

“More than 70 per cent of the clubs in Grimsby have agreed to the Telegraph’s SOS Code of Conduct. Now we just need the rest to get into gear and sign up too.”

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