Today, Sport NI is delighted to confirm that over £10 million has been committed through the Sports Sustainability Fund Programme, to those successful sports in the first group, with up to a further £15M still to be awarded to successful applicants.

 

The Sports Sustainability Fund is designed to provide much needed support to alleviate financial hardship as a result of Covid-19. The Fund will play a crucial role in supporting sport to survive and emerge strongly from Covid 19, as the NI Executive announces pathway plans for a return to sport in Northern Ireland.

 

Welcoming the progress, Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey said:  “I am delighted that the sports sector is to receive more financial support through the Sports Sustainability Fund. I know that the £25m fund is a critical to the sector and that the Governing Bodies and clubs urgently need it.

 

The sector has shown outstanding resilience over the past year particularly when the Covid restrictions decimated their ability to generate their own income through ticket sales, sponsorship, running competitions and hospitality.  

 

I am grateful to the work of Sport NI and the Sports Governing Bodies in getting this funding support out to the sector and look forward to the remaining monies issuing over the next few weeks.”

 

Antoinette McKeown, Sport NI CEO, said “The sports sector has played a critical role in supporting communities throughout this pandemic and our sector is needed now, more than ever, to help our communities emerge from this pandemic.  The Sports Sustainability Fund along with our other Covid 19 responses has enabled our local sports clubs, governing bodies and sports organisations to survive and prepare for a safe return to sport”.

 

Antoinette McKeown continued “We are all acutely aware of the mental health impact of social disconnect during Covid-19, especially on our children and young people. We know the huge gap created in our lives as a result of not having sport during Covid -19. The Sport NI team has worked tirelessly with the sector and the Department for Communities to ensure that we can all enjoy again the benefits of sport. We are grateful to the NI Executive for recognizing the value of sport in providing the Sports Sustainability Fund and we are committed to ensuring that sport continues to play a leading role in or communities at this time.”

 

The awards made to date and future awards are available here. This link will be live from 9am 04 03 21.

 

Sport NI has applied a rigorous, open and transparent approach to allocation of this Fund. Principles of equality, inclusion, demonstration of need have all been central to the decision-making process.

 

Sport NI will continue to assess applications to the Sports Sustainability Fund for those applicants that have met the eligibility criteria, in the coming weeks. It is estimated that Sport NI will have all funding for the Sports Sustainability Fund delivered to those successful applicants by the end of March 2021.

 

It is evident that the Sports Sustainability Funding and other programmes that Sport NI and the Department for Communities have launched, will play an integral role in our pathway to recover when sport begins to emerge from Covid 19. For further information on the Sports Sustainability Fund please visit the Sport NI website: Sports Sustainability Fund | Sport NI.

 

If you would like to arrange an interview with Antoinette McKeown, Sport NI CEO email: comms@sportni.net