ALAN SHEARER has urged grassroots sports clubs across the UK and Ireland to apply for a share of £500,000 in Cash4Clubs funding after 256 applications were submitted in less than two weeks.
The former England captain has seen first-hand how the grants can transform community sport after witnessing the impact of funding on Newcastle Panthers, the North East’s only LGBTQIA+-inclusive football team.
Cash4Clubs , run by Flutter UK & Ireland in partnership with grassroots sports charity Sported, offers grants of £2,000, alongside five larger awards worth £10,000 each in 2027.
Applications opened at the start of October, with clubs across a wide range of sports already submitting bids ahead of the January 1 deadline.
The funding can help non-profit organisations pay for equipment, training programmes and marketing to attract new members, with £1.3million distributed to grassroots clubs over the past three years alone.
Shearer said: “You’re putting smiles on faces, you’re giving people opportunities that perhaps others are not getting. When I see it, you realise how important it is that there are initiatives like this.
“These are life-changing amounts of money, and for anyone to be lucky enough to get one of those grants, well, you can see the difference it made for Newcastle Panthers. That could well be you.”
Joel Greenwell, club secretary and player at Newcastle Panthers, said the grant had made a lasting difference to the team, which has welcomed six new players in the last four weeks alone.
He said: “The Cash4Clubs grant has allowed the Newcastle Panthers to access facilities that we would have never been able to afford before, opening our sessions to more participants and impacting the LGBTQIA+ community massively in the North East.”
Greenwell urged other clubs to take advantage of the opportunity.
He said: “Do it! The team are so supportive and the process is simple and straightforward. Really think about how your club benefits your members and how funding would improve this – this will be key to your success!”
Grassroots and community sports clubs supporting adults to play sport across the UK and Ireland can apply for funding at www.cash4clubs.org before January 1.
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