BARCLAYS COMMUNITY SPORT FUND
Female Coaches for Girls Grant
Barclays believe in creating opportunities for all through access to sport. Through the Barclays Community Sport Fund, we want to grow participation at every level and have grants dedicated to getting more women qualified across the UK to coach women and girls’ football, tennis and cricket at a grassroots level.
Increasing the number of high-quality female coaches in the women and girls’ game is crucial to improving standards, meeting increased demand, and showing women and girls – through local female role models – that they can be involved in sport in a variety of ways.
Who is eligible to apply?
This fund is available to all clubs and groups that run football, cricket or tennis activities for women and/or girls and aspire to get more female coaches qualified. You are eligible even if you have already received a grant from the Barclays Community Sport Fund.
We welcome applications from not-for-profit organisations, including charities, community groups, youth groups, and traditional sports clubs, who are submitting on behalf of the individuals who want to undertake their Level 1 coaching qualification.
Groups are welcome to apply from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
To be eligible for funding, the female coaches you put forward must meet the following criteria:
Aged 16+ (or 18+ depending on specific course eligibility).
Already coaching girls or would like to start.
Part of a club or group with women and/or girls’ provision where they would like to begin or continue coaching (e.g. current player, parent of a player, volunteer etc).
Can undertake their coaching qualification within 12 months (subject to course availability).
We particularly welcome applications from female coaches from diverse backgrounds and with lived experience, to help ensure the programme reflects the communities it serves.
How much can I apply for?
You can apply for £200 to cover the cost of a Level 1 or equivalent introductory qualification and any additional safeguarding and first aid requirements for your sport.
You can apply to upskill up to two female coaches at your club or group (2 x £200 grants per club).
What are the open and closing dates for the fund?
The fund is open for applications for 4 months; from 9am on Wednesday 8th July 2026 until 5pm on Wednesday 4th November 2026. We may close earlier if we receive a large volume of applications.
To check you are eligible and make sure you have all the information you need to apply, please read the Frequently Asked Questions below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Female Coaches for Girls Grant
We are offering a standard grant amount due to the range of prices of introductory coaching courses across sports and countries.
If the course costs less than the grant you have received, please use this extra funding to pay for your expenses, equipment or any additional training you might like to undertake.
If the course costs more than the grant you have received, please use the funding as a contribution towards your course.
We want you to demonstrate how upskilling a new female coach will support the development or expansion of your football, cricket or tennis activities for women and/or girls. Tell us why the coach you are putting forward is great, and the positive impact they will have.
The funding is only to be used for coaching qualifications, to book female coaches on to their Level 1 or equivalent introductory course in either football, tennis, or cricket.
Please do not apply for funding for higher level coaching qualifications e.g. Level 2, UEFA C.
You can apply to upskill up to two female coaches at your club or group.
If your group delivers more than one of our focus sports (football, tennis, or cricket), you can still only apply to upskill two coaches, although the coaches may cover different sports.
1. A governing document in the name of your organisation.
What is this?
This could be your Club Constitution or Articles of Association. If you are using a National Governing Body template, it must have your organisations name on it to show it has been formally adopted.
Why do we need it?
Part of our assessment process is to ensure you are a not-for-profit organisation benefiting the local community. We are unable to fund Individuals, Sole Traders or Companies limited by shares.
Can we give you our company or charity number instead?
Yes, if you are a charity or company, you can enter your charity or company number on the application form instead of uploading a copy of your governing document.
2. A bank statement in the name of your organisation.
Why do we need it?
We need your sort code and account number so we can make payment if you are successful. We do not need to see any transactions or balance.
What does it need to show?
The statement must show the account name, which need to match the name of the organisation applying for the grant. We are unable to fund personal bank accounts or accounts named ‘Community’. We need to see the name.
The statement must be dated within the last 3 months. If you are sending a screen shot from online banking, make sure it has a date on it.
The statement must show the sort code and account number, clearly, so we can copy it for payment.
We will also ask you to declare that you are a not-for-profit organisation, and have an up-to-date Safeguarding policy, Health and Safety policy and relevant insurance to cover your activities.
If you are successful with your application, we will transfer the funds to your club or group. You can then book your coach on to the relevant course and pay for it directly.
The course you book will depend on the sport, level and where you are based in the UK.
Please book on to a coaching course as soon as possible after receiving the funding. The funding will ideally be spent within six months, to allow us to monitor the impact of the programme.
We will also ask for feedback on how the coach has supported the development of women and girls’ activities at your club. Some groups may be selected for an audit and required to provide copies of booking and payment for the coaching course. You can find details of the reporting requirements for this fund below.
Schools and other educational institutions are unfortunately not eligible to apply for the fund. Charities that support schools may be considered if they are inclusive of girls from the wider community and not just pupils from that school.
Delivery of activities must be community focused. Activities can take place at school facilities, but we cannot fund coaches who are solely coaching school sessions during curriculum time or after school clubs.
Yes. If your group has received a grant from the Barclays Community Sport Fund before, you can still apply to the female coaches fund to upskill up to two new female coaches.
No, you will need to complete and save your grant application at one time. It is a short and simple application form.
You will need to attach a copy of your bank statement and governance document / company or charity number, so please have these to hand when you are ready to complete the online form.
We will accommodate different accessibility needs to give organisations the best chance of communicating their idea and plans with us. This could be arranging a conversation with a member of our team to provide clarity on the questions and process, or providing information and the application form in accessible formats. We will consider any requests for accessibility that will reduce barriers to applying.
If you require additional support or wish to make an accessibility request, we are happy to help.
Please get in touch at barclays@sported.org.uk
We will assess applications as they come in and you will receive contact from the Sported grants team within 4 weeks of your application.
