Sport England invests in “ideas to tackle inequalities”

Sport England has invested more than £4m this year to support ideas aimed at reducing inequalities in access to sport and physical activity. The grassroots funding body opened a one-off Pilot Fund which ran for six weeks from December 2023 to January 2024, by invitation only.

The fund focused on ways to increase activity and decrease inactivity in disadvantaged groups. Sport England also used the fund to “test new approaches and ideas for funding and working”, ahead of the launch of its Movement Fund in April 2024.

The Pilot Fund was open to more than 60 organisations whose funding requirements sat between the large-scale, long-term approach of Sport England’s system partners and the small-scale, one-off purpose of its former Small Grants programme.

In total, 18 awards were handed out, totalling £4,200,164, to a variety of regional and national charities, community interest companies and national governing bodies. Ten of them focused on getting people active – such as walking – while seven were based on more traditional sports.