Grassroots sport return boosted as Made By Sport’s £4 million fund to open on 12 April

As grassroots sport once again begins its phased return across the UK, Made By Sport is pleased to announce its ‘Clubs In Crisis’ fund, which will distribute over £4million worth of funding directly to grassroots sports clubs and organisations, will open from 12 April.

Unrestricted grants of up to £2021 will be made available for those groups who do so much to use sport as a vehicle for social good for young people in the local area, and allow them to develop a range of life skills and knowledge that bring a benefit to not only the individual, but also to their local community.

The funding announcement comes as the UK looks to build back better across society, and particularly our young people, who have been blighted by this pandemic. Made By Sport believes that sport is a vital tool to help overcome the challenges surrounding mental health that some of our young people face, and how in return this can help tackle important social issues such as reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, increasing life and employment skills and pathways alongside bringing communities together.

The crisis is reaching a critical point, with the damning statistics around the impact of the pandemic on young people showing why support is needed for the next generation now more than ever.

With young people spending more than a third of their leisure time using devices and less than half of that time socialising, it has created a less active group of people, with over half of young people surveyed in the Prince’s Trust Youth Index 2021 stating their mental health has worsened since the start of the pandemic.

83% of young people said that the pandemic had affected their mental health, reporting issues with sleep, panic attacks and urges to self-harm during the periods of lockdown.

One in four 16 to 25-year-olds also admitted they feel “unable to cope with life”, increasing to 40 per cent among those not in Employment, Education or Training. As the UK begins to plan for a post-pandemic future, community clubs need to play a vital role in the recovery of young people and to break the challenges of mental health through the power of sport.

It is estimated that sport returns £4 for every £1 spent on reductions in spending on crime, truancy and ill health. Young people who are physically active thanks to their local sports clubs and organisations can show up to seven times better levels of teamwork, six times better levels of greater resilience and five times better communication skills.

With sport returning, now is the time to invest in grassroots sports and give our young people the best opportunity to thrive. That’s why Made By Sport have been working hard behind the scenes to create something which will leave a long-lasting, positive legacy for the future of your young people.

From 12 April, the #ClubsInCrisis fund, supported by the Cash4Clubs scheme, will open to funding applications from community sports clubs and organisations across the UK.

Find all the information on how to apply for funding and more visit the Made By Sport website here: https://bit.ly/3vODUod