Mayor Of London Unveils £4m Sport Fund
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has launched a new £4m fund aimed at projects in the capital that use sport to tackle a range of social issues, as well as increasing participation in sport.
The new fund aims to help turn around the lives of local communities through sporting activities as well as aiming to increase participation.
Funding applications are open until 1st October 2010 and will provide winning projects with £50,000 – £250,000 over the next two years.
The first bidding round is open from 23rd August and applies to £2m of the fund.
The remainder of the fund is subject to a second stage of funding agreement and a further bidding round in 2011.
The Mayor said: ‘The beauty of sport is its ability to get people together from all backgrounds to join in positive activity. As well as helping young people stay healthy, it can provide immense mental stimulation and as such help tackle issues such as crime, educational underachievement and a lack of community cohesion.’
PlaySport London is the overall brand being given to all sports-related activity funded from the £15.5m Olympic legacy funding from the London Development Agency.
The new fund is the latest example of the growing use of sport as a tool to tackle social issues in communities, a scenario embodied by the Beyond Sport initiative which is holding its annual Summit and Awards in Chicago between 29th-30th September.
To find out more about the Summit and to register your attendance, visit www.beyondsport.org
