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Sport England announces £195m fund for sport and physical activity

Sport England has announced it will make up to £195 million of funding available to help the sport and physical activity sector through the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis.

The package, which is a combination of National Lottery and government funding, is made up of the following:

  • A £20 million Community Emergency Fund, which will be opened immediately for clubs and community organisations to bid into. Grants between £300 and £10,000 are available. See further down this page for more information including links to additional guidance, support and to apply online.
  • A £5 million pot for existing partners to bid into if they're facing specific financial difficulty
  • An additional £55 million to support our sector during an ongoing period of restrictions, to fund new and innovative ways to keep people active and, when the period of restrictions is over, to help organisations get back to business and adjust to a different environment
  • A £115 million rollover of current funding into 2021/22 to give long term certainty to over 100 well established partners who play a vital role in the delivery of sport and physical activity in England.

Alongside this, given cashflow concerns in the sector, Sport England has also agreed to consider requests to release six months of the coming year’s funding (50% of awards) to its partners, meaning additional funding will be available sooner.

The package follows Sport England's recent decision to offer major flexibilities to those who currently receive funding – including the ability to change timings, key performance indicators, targets and conditions, and redirect money to new activity in response to coronavirus.

The £20m Community Emergency Fund

The Community Emergency Fund aims to deliver immediate funding to those most in need and builds on the success of similar previous funds such as Sport England's Flood Relief Fund.

It's specifically targeted at organisations, including those not currently supported by Sport England, who have a role in supporting the nation to be active but who are experiencing short-term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the impact of coronavirus. Organisations can apply for grants between £300 and £10,000.

The types of organisations eligible include local sports clubs forced to close at short notice, but who are facing ongoing costs around maintenance and utility bills, and voluntary and community sector organisations who deliver or enable sport and physical activity.

A specific example might be a grant to support a local club to pay costs for their facility when no activity is taking place, or a grant to support a league who have paid for equipment to run a competition which has now been cancelled.

Click here for more information including further details of the fund, criteria and application forms.

Any England Athletics affiliated clubs or organisations who are considering applying for grants from the Community Emergency Fund can contact their regional England Athletics Club Support Manager for further assistance. Click here for contact details of our Club Support Managers.