Sports clubs and community organisations can receive up to £5,000 match funding for new projects thanks to Sport NI’s Creating Opportunities programme.
Creating Opportunities, funded by the National Lottery, is focused on levelling the playing field and providing more opportunities for people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities to participate in sport and physical activity.
The programme will support local sports clubs, charities, voluntary organisations and Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) to raise funds for their participation projects by setting-up their own crowdfunding campaigns.
This year Sport NI will match fund the projects by pledging 65% of an organisation’s Crowdfunder campaign total up to a maximum of £5,000.
Successful projects will need the support of their local community and wider network to meet their fundraising target.
Sport NI Interim CEO Richard Archibald said: “The third year of Creating Opportunities will continue to help clubs and organisations develop innovative projects that make sport more accessible and inclusive.
“We’re pleased to increase our match funding to 65% this year. Combined with the invaluable support of local communities, this investment will help more people across Northern Ireland take part in sport.
“Sport is for everyone, but people can face a range of barriers, from ability and time to resources. No one should be excluded from participating in sport and physical activity, and we are grateful to The National Lottery for helping us break down these barriers.”
In 2025/26, 85 projects across 15 sports benefited from over £375,000 of National Lottery funding through Creating Opportunities. An additional £413,000 was raised by campaign supporters via Crowdfunder, resulting in over £700,000 invested into local grassroots sport.
Belfast Superkings Cricket Club created a new youth development programme which they were able to offer for free to participants, Leander Swimming Club ran the ‘Get on Deck’ project to revitalise female engagement and Woodvale Football Club ran extra training for girls aged 2-10.
At Queen’s, they used their funding to introduce international students to GAA and the hockey club ran the ‘Get Hooked’ programme to introduce students to university sport and enjoy the social culture without financial barriers.
Applications for Phase 3 are now open. Successful projects must complete their crowdfunding campaigns and deliver activity by 31 March 2027.
Organisations interested in applying can find out more and begin their crowdfunding journey via the Sport NI Creating Opportunities programme website: www.sportni.net/funding/creating-opportunities/
This project has been made possible thanks to the support from The National Lottery and the National Lottery players who raise more than £33 million every week for good causes.