Sport England pledge to invest £120 million to help young athletes
Funding has been announced to help develop inclusive talent pathways, following the excitement and huge recent successes within the Olympics and Paralympics. Sport England have announced that the £120 million will be put ‘into the next generation of Olympic and Paralympic talent.’
Who can benefit from the funding?
The funding will support athletes in grassroots environments, as well as those already on talent pathways such as formal high-performance sport programmes. It will be available for the 2025-2029 funding cycle.
The funding is being delivered by Sport England’s existing partnerships with more than 70 sports organisations, which includes the Backing the Best programme, run by SportsAid, with a further £1.5m of National Lottery funding.
“All talented young athletes should have the opportunity to reach the Olympics or Paralympics”
Chief Executive of Sport England, Tim Hollingsworth, is excited by the funding opportunities and noted how it could provide opportunities outside of a sporting environment.
He commented on how talent pathways provide important life skills like teamwork, resilience and problem solving; something all young people can benefit from.
Through creating more inclusive talent pathways, Sport England want to increase participation in sport and boost diversity at a grassroots level in order to give more and better opportunities to all young people to explore and develop their potential.
“Affluence and activity levels are often closely linked; the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to be active. This starts at a grassroots level and goes right up to high-performance sport.
But we believe that all talented young athletes should have the opportunity to reach the Olympics or Paralympics – regardless of their background, bank balance or postcode.”
Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England
Find out more
This is a hugely exciting announcement and opportunity for young people looking to develop their sporting abilities. To find out more about the funding, click the link below.