Greenham Trust launches £30K Football for Fitness Fund to help more girls, women and gender inclusive groups get active and healthy

Following the Lionesses’ inspirational UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 win, Greenham Trust is launching a £30,000 Football for Fitness Fund to help girls and women and people of all ages and abilities play the sport to help them get more active and healthier.

Local schools, sports clubs, community groups, Scouts, Guides, Brownies are invited to apply for up to £1,500 in grants for new initiatives, with funds available to buy equipment or sports kit, pitch hire, coaching costs or qualifications and to cover volunteer costs to organise football sessions.

The fund is specifically to use football as a catalyst to support the improvement in physical and mental health and wellbeing with the well-documented accompanying positive social benefits the game has.

Every successful grant applicant will also receive a Greenham Trust branded football.

Launching the Football for Fitness Fund Greenham Trust Chief Executive Chris Boulton said: “We were all so proud to watch the Lionesses win England’s first major football tournament for decades with their ‘can do’ attitude and incredible self-belief which inspired the whole nation. We want to use that momentum to encourage all girls and women, whatever their age or ability, who wouldn’t normally have access to the game, to have the opportunity to get involved in football so they can improve their health and mental wellbeing. What better way to start getting more active than to play football.”

Endorsing the Football for Fitness funding programme, Head of Delivery at Berks & Bucks Football Association Jon Wood added: “After hosting such an inspiring UEFA Women’s Euros, it provides us with an exceptional opportunity to impact lives across West Berkshire via increasing activity levels and reaping all of the benefits that go with this. Female football within our area has grown tremendously over recent seasons, and we hope the success of this unprecedented tournament will accelerate this even further across all areas of the game. The resource that Greenham Trust are investing, offers our clubs and other local organisations the opportunity to develop new provisions, as well as build on existing delivery.”

The Greenham Trust Football for Fitness Fund is now open to applications and will run until March 31, 2023. It is an inclusive fund and will focus on benefitting all disadvantaged, gender inclusive and hard-to-reach groups. If successful there may be more funding available.

The Fund is now open to applications via The Good Exchange funding and fundraising website and for full eligibility criteria and details of how to apply please visit https://greenhamtrust.com/greenham-trust-grant-funding/our-current-funding-opportunities/