Sported Foundation

Sported Foundation, a UK-wide charity established in 2008, empowers children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through grassroots sport and physical activity as a catalyst for social change. Its mission is to sustain community sports groups so young people thrive, fostering a fairer society via values of inclusion, empowerment, and community resilience. Distinctively, it operates as an "umbrella" body for a network of over 5,000 grassroots clubs reaching nearly one million youth, providing free mentoring, training (e.g., disability inclusion, autism awareness), capacity-building, advocacy, and resources to trusted local leaders in deprived areas.

The foundation funds initiatives addressing mental health, crime reduction, community cohesion, educational attainment gaps, wellbeing, and inclusion for marginalised groups facing poverty, disability, ethnicity, or other barriers. Support targets projects enhancing participation, organisational resilience (e.g., during COVID-19 or cost-of-living crises), and broader social outcomes via sport, including specific programmes like Barclays Female Coaches for Girls Fund, Cash4Clubs, and People’s Postcode Lottery Fund. Beneficiaries are primarily children, youth, disabled individuals, and at-risk communities across urban/rural UK settings.

Eligible applicants are UK-registered charities and community groups (preferably small/medium-sized with incomes under £250,000) using sport for social impact; membership in Sported's network is typically required for core support, prioritising those in deprived areas. It does not accept unsolicited core applications. Grants range from £1,000-£5,000 for projects, core costs, capacity-building, or small capital, via programme-specific online portals with deadlines like Cash4Clubs (8 September-8 December 2025). Unlike generalist funders, Sported excludes non-sport-rooted work and larger national bodies, uniquely blending direct aid with large-scale partnerships and sustainability focus for under-resourced grassroots heroes.