As part of his Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced £300 million of government funding to help sports, clubs and leagues affected by restrictions placed on spectator attendance.
Sport England chief executive Tim Hollingsworth has welcomed the new Sport Recovery Package.
The government funding, that builds on the successful rollout of the £300m Sport Winter Survival Package announced last November, will help sports that are heavily dependent on income from spectators such as cricket, tennis and horse racing continue until fans are allowed to return.
"This additional funding will make a big difference to many sports that depend on spectators and have been especially impacted by the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.
"As we continue to do with the Sport Winter Survival Package, we'll work closely with the government to set out how sports can access this money as quickly and efficiently as possible once more details have been confirmed.
"Sports play a vital role in our communities up and down the country and, in these unprecedented times, the government’s survival package funding – which now totals around £600m overall – will provide vital and timely support during the next few months while restrictions start to be lifted."
Sport England is responsible for managing and administering the Sport Winter Survival Package with funding decisions made by an independent board led by Barclays bank chairman Sir Ian Cheshire.
Sir Ian is pleased the new funding will help sports impacted over the next few months and explained: "Having seen first-hand what a lifeline government investment through the Sport Winter Survival Package has provided for a huge number of sports, this extra £300m to run through to the summer is very good news.
"The lack of spectators in venues has removed vitally important income, having an impact on sports from grassroots all the way to the elite, and so we will work at pace to ensure that those with significant financial need are engaged at speed and supported throughout the coming months."
Further details about the Sport Recovery Package, including how the money will be distributed, how organisations can apply and timeframes, will be announced in the coming weeks.
Allocations will be made in accordance to need, and will reflect the financial circumstance of each individual sport.
The package was just one of a number of government actions to support sport and physical activity announced in the Budget. Other measures included:
- £25m for UK grassroots community sports facilities, supporting the future of grassroots football
- £1.2m to mitigate the financial effects of coronavirus on the Uefa Women’s Euro football competition and deliver a successful tournament in England in 2022, supporting the sport to grow and thrive
- A £150m Community Ownership Fund that will allow communities across the UK to invest to protect the assets that matter most to them, including local sports clubs
- £2.8m towards a joint bid from the home nations and the Republic of Ireland to host the 2030 Fifa Football World Cup.
