Community sports funding by Betfair

Cash4Clubs initiative makes first national fund awards

Online betting group Betfair has been successfully running its Cash4Clubs drive regionally in the UK since last year, meeting with such success that it has launched the initiative nationally, with this week seeing the first round of funding on a national basis.

Cash 4 Clubs is a sports funding scheme which gives clubs a unique chance to apply for grants to improve facilities, purchase new equipment, gain coaching qualifications, and generally invest in the sustainability of their club. In 2008 over GBP 30 000 was given out in grants to 30 community sports clubs across the UK in a flexible, no-fuss way that provides help where it's most needed.

The Cash 4 Clubs scheme is funded by Betfair and is supported by SportsAid, the charity for sports people. Betfair and SportsAid have worked in partnership for a number of years and both organisations understand the importance of community sport in promoting an active lifestyle.

The initiative makes awards each quarter of up to GBP 1 000 per sports club, with applications for the first four quarters judged by an independent committee made up of Alan Keen MP, Sportsaid CEO Tim Lawler, Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes and BBC Sport commentator Barry Davies MBE.

Dame Kelly Holmes said: “Cash 4 Clubs is aimed at supporting grassroots community sport clubs and the people who invest so much time and energy to ensure the future of sport in this country.”

Fifteen sportsclubs were chosen from more than 2 000 entries to receive a total of GBP 10 000 in funding from the scheme in the current funding round.

Betfair corporate social responsibility manager Georgina Corbett said: “I have been taken aback by the volume and high standard of entries for this round of funding and I know the panel found it very difficult to narrow down more than 2,000 applications into just 15 awards.”

The next round of funding will take place in December.

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