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<p>The Government is committed to supporting grassroots sport and I welcomed its return
on the 29th March.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>During the pandemic, Sport England
has provided £220m directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres
through this pandemic, via a range of funds including their £35m Community Emergency
Fund. This support is available to both men’s and women’s clubs with the latest figures
showing £10.5m has already been awarded to over 1,500 football clubs.</p><p><strong>
</strong></p><p>Sport England has provided funding to The Football Foundation which
has run various funds to help grassroots clubs prepare for the return of football
and re-open their facilities once safe to do so. This has included the Club and Pitch
Preparation Funds and Matchday Support Fund.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Government
also has an established partnership with the Football Association and the Premier
League focused on investment into community facilities, the Government contributing
£18m each year. The three-way partnership sees a combined £70m go to new facilities
delivered by the Football Foundation each year. Sport England and The FA have worked
with the Foundation to produce a local football facility plan for every local authority
in the country, mapping out the local investment needs. These can be found at https://footballfoundation.org.uk/local-plans.</p><p><strong>
</strong></p><p>Alongside this annual investment, the Government announced at Budget
21 an additional £25m of funding for community sport facilities across the UK.</p><p><strong>
</strong></p><p>The Government will continue to support grassroots sport in our local
communities.</p><p> </p>
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