Barclays Community Sport Fund

BARCLAYS COMMUNITY SPORT FUND

Funding the future of Community Sport

Sport opens doors to skills that last a lifetime.

That’s why Barclays is giving grants to community groups who need it most.

At Barclays, we believe in creating opportunities through access to sport. That’s why, in partnership with Sported, the Barclays Community Sport Fund offers grants, bespoke support, and exclusive ticketing opportunities to make football, tennis, and cricket more accessible to women and girls in communities across the UK.

Since the fund’s inception in 2022, we’ve helped over 4,000 community groups to make sport more accessible, with over 670,000 people supported by the fund so far.

Is my club or group eligible to apply?

The £1.4 million-a-year fund provides grants to community groups that are:

Making football, cricket, or tennis more accessible to women and girls

AND

Operating in areas of high deprivation*

*We will consider applications from groups engaging women and girls with disabilities or facing challenges of rural isolation, that are not in deprived areas.

What can I apply for?

A £1000 grant to help sustain and increase access to football, tennis, and cricket for women and girls
Funding for football, tennis, and cricket coaching courses to help increase the number of female coaches delivering sport to girls

If successful for funding, your group will also be able to access:

Exclusive match tickets, mascot places, and promotional opportunities
Access to advice and support and signposting to training and resources

£1000 access grant

To support the delivery of football, tennis or cricket activities for women and girls.

Opening 9am on Wednesday 25th March 2026.

Female coaches for girls grant

To cover the cost of a Level 1 or equivalent qualification for your sport.

Opening 9am on Wednesday 8th July 2026.

The Barclays Community Sport Fund, delivered in partnership with Sported, helps to reduce inequalities in sport – with a focus on football, tennis, and cricket.
The fund supports charities, community groups and grassroots sports organisations who are working within the most deprived and rurally isolated areas of the UK and are making sport more accessible to women and girls, as well as engaging people from other under-represented groups including people with disabilities, from racially diverse communities and from the LGBTQ+ community.
The programme will support thousands of community groups across the UK with a total investment of £1.4 million a year over three years.

*Eligibility criteria apply. UK only. Grants subject to availability. This is a three-year funding programme running from 2025 until 2027.

What the Barclays Community Sport Fund has accomplished … so far

From 2022-2025, our partnership delivered:

Over £4million distributed to community groups and facility developments.

3,520 organisations part of the Barclays Community Sport Fund network.

677,974 people impacted by the programme.

806 Barclays employees engaging in the programme and inspiring a local group to apply for a grant.

Two unique Participatory Grant Making programmes in Manchester and Birmingham, supporting communities traditionally excluded from funding.

87% of groups able to engage with new people from underrepresented groups – creating 32,568 new people playing football.

54% of groups able to train up new coaches from underrepresented groups, creating 2,914 additional coaches – including more Female coaches for Girls.

100% of groups said that the grant had made a positive difference to their group.