Clubs in Crisis, a grassroots sports project backed by Flutter Entertainment, has donated more than £1.8m (€2.1m/$2.5m) to hundreds of sports clubs across the UK during the first three months of the project.
Launched in April and funded by a £4.8m donation from Flutter’s Cash4Clubs charity initiative, Clubs in Crisis aims to help support sports clubs and organisations that have suffered financially during the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
The first three months of the initiative saw the Clubs in Crisis fund grant awards of £2,021 to 896 clubs across 42 community foundations, with further distributions to be made in the coming weeks.
Some 65% of grants were provided to clubs focused on developing life skills and improving mental health, with 21% of funds going to groups working on community building, 11% for organisations working to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour 3% for groups focused on improving youth employability.
To qualify for the grants, clubs must have turnover of less than £75,000 and demonstrate that they are focused on using sports as a social development tool.
While the grants are wholly funded by Flutter through its Cash4Clubs programme, funds are administered by Made by Sport in partnership with UK Community Foundations (UKCF).
“Flutter has a long history of supporting grassroots sports and I’m delighted that in just three months £1.8m of the available funding is already making a difference on the ground,” Flutter chief executive Peter Jackson said.
“The response that Made By Sport has received demonstrates the clear need for this type of funding and I hope that this inspires others to get involved so that we can strengthen the new support networks we are building for this hard to reach sector.”
Made by Sport chairman Justin King added: “After an unprecedented 18 months and with schools having to close their doors, young people have really felt the brunt of the pandemic, and support is needed now more than ever for clubs across the country – as shown by the sheer volume of grants made in such a short space of time.
“Access to sport can be life-changing for young people both mentally and physically and contribute towards better life outcomes. I’m delighted that our partnership with Cash4Clubs is already making such an impact.”
