Sports clubs get coronavirus grant funding

A number of sports clubs in Caerphilly County Borough will receive grants of up to £5,000 from Sport Wales to help them through the coronavirus pandemic.

So far, eight clubs in the borough, and 132 across Wales, have been approved to receive a share of £400,000 from Sport Wales’ Emergency Relief Fund.

Seven clubs in the borough have been rejected for the funding, while two applications have been deferred.

The fund is targeted at clubs “who are already facing significant challenges after a difficult few weeks and who are likely to need immediate financial support over the next 12 weeks (up to June 30 2020) if they are to remain an important part of their communities in the future.”

Sport Wales, which is the national organisation for developing and promoting sport in Wales, has not yet revealed which clubs have received the funding.

£200,000 of the £400,000 is coming directly through Sport Wales, while the rest is being matched by Welsh Government.

Each club is entitled to apply for a minimum of £300 and a maximum of £5,000.

The grant can be used to cover costs such as rent, insurance, equipment hire and those that may be affected by recent flooding.

The acting chief executive of Sport Wales, Brian Davies, said: “Given the enormity of the current crisis, we anticipate receiving a significant number of applications, and we’ll need to direct funds to where they are most needed.

“We’re also working through other sources of funding and support so that we maximise the help we can give.

“It’s a quickly changing situation and we are communicating with our partners and clubs as much as possible.

“We have already identified an initial fund of up to £8.1million which will allow us to continue to support our partners beyond the Emergency Relief Fund.

“We will be working closely with our partners over the coming weeks to determine together how best to utilise the fund to support sport in Wales.”

To apply for the grant or for more information visit sport.wales/content-vault/emergency-relief-fund/