Sport Minister Helen Grant has confirmed she is investigating the fees councils charge for football pitches amid warnings that the sport is steadily becoming a game for children with rich parents.

Ms Grant said a new ownership model for local sports facilities "may need to be looked at" after Labour MP David Crausby warned of a long-term decline in participation as teams cannot afford to hire pitches. The MP for Bolton North East said many parents cannot afford fees for their children to play on pitches, let alone boots and travel, and so many poorer children are being denied the chance to play.

He said he did not blame local authorities that are having to absorb 40% cuts and so charge higher fees for football facilities. But he derided the Football Association for "failing the grassroots game" in the wake of a £1.6m funding cut from Sport England, which was made in response to a decline in participation.

Leading a debate on grassroots football in Westminster Hall, he said: "Poor pitches, weeks of play lost to bad weather, no changing facilities, no showers, increasing pitch fees, poor families priced out and other families deterred by the shoddy conditions.

"The result is not surprisingly that participation is falling. There are currently 1.84 million people playing football on a regular basis, according to Sport England, a fall of 100,000 since April last year. There were more than two million people playing in 2006 and what we are witnessing is a long-term decline.

"What was once a working-class game is steadily becoming a game for children that can only be afforded by those with better-off parents. It's difficult enough to drag our kids off the couch away from the XBox and into the car in order to play proper football in the open air as it is, but if you are a child with poor parents who can't afford the fees let alone the kit and the football boots and don't have a car, then the prospect looks even bleaker and in many cases they will be denied the opportunity to play."

He added: "The FA have called the reduction in funding disappointing. Well frankly the FA should be more than disappointed. They should feel ashamed because if they are failing the grassroots game then they are failing the game itself and everything they stand for."

Grant said she raised the issue of how much councils are charging for football pitches and facilities with the FA this morning.

One policy proposal is for county FAs to work more closely with local authorities in managing sports projects but Grant said that may be too ad hoc, adding that a new model of ownership may need looking at.

She said: "You rightly referred to the fact that some teams can't afford the fees that local authorities are charging for the various facilities and I have to tell you this is an issue that is of concern to me. I am aware of it, I'm investigating the issue, I had a meeting with the FA this morning and I raised the point again.

"And I do know that the FA and Sport England are working hard on this issue, it has got to be dealt with.

"All sorts of ideas are being looked at, one of which is encouraging the county FAs to work in a much closer manner with local authorities in managing the community sports projects.

"But ultimately that to me sounds a little bit ad hoc and so ultimately I think some new model of ownership of sports facilities may need to be looked at but I would reassure you that I will be working closely on what can be done to deal with this very important issue."

Crausby's petition calling on the government to make the FA "top slice" 7.5% of money from Premier League broadcasting rights, worth billions of pounds, to fund grassroots football has 30,600 signatures.