A survey conducted by Sported identified that grassroots sports groups have significant skills gaps in the use of digital technology, particularly in relation to fundraising, marketing, collecting data and using social media. 

In 2023, Vodafone partnered with Sported to set up the sports.connected programme which provided a range of digital services to groups delivering sports programmes to young people, to enable those groups to put on more activities and to improve their digital capacity.  

A tool was developed to assess their level of digital confidence, capability, and access, and bespoke training was then offered to meet their identified needs.  

Vodafone also offered a number of grants to groups operating in specific geographical locations.