Without these funds from Sport England, the club would have found itself in a very testing financial position, says Glebe chairman Rocky McMillan

GLEBE chairman Rocky McMillan has been awarded £10,000 of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund towards ground costs, maintenance, utility bills and other essential running costs during the current coronavirus pandemic.

The outbreak of the virus and the consequent shutdown of businesses as of 23 March 2020 has left the sport and physical activity sector facing a period of uncertainty.

In response, on 31 March, Sport England announced a £195m package to help the sport and physical activity sector through covid-19.

Within the package is a £20m Community Emergency Fund of National Lottery money to deliver immediate funding to those who have a role in supporting the nation to be active but are experiencing short-term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the impact of coronavirus.

“We are extremely grateful for the help Sport England have given us with this grant,” said McMillan.

“Without these funds, the club would have found itself in a very testing financial position.

“With this support, we now look forward to providing best in class facilities for our members in the new season.”

Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England’s chief executive, said: “As the body responsible for the growth of sport and physical activity participation, we want the vital grassroots organisations that make sport and physical activity happen in this country to not just to come through this crisis but to be in a position to thrive again in the future.

“The £20m Community Emergency Fund, made possible by National Lottery players is part of a multimillion-pound package of support we are providing to ease the pressure on a huge number of the organisations who are central to the nation’s health and wellbeing.

“We are proud to be able to provide vital funding to Glebe FC to help it through these extremely challenging times.”

Chislehurst-based Glebe were founded in 1995 by Rocky and his wife Grace and the club has teams from under sevens to under 18s, a ladies' side and their men’s first team compete in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division – in the ninth tier of English football.

The club were one of the first clubs to establish a FA Wildcats Centre, providing an opportunity for local girls to play football at the Foxbury Avenue club.

The Sport England Community Emergency Fund is a part of Sport England’s overall £195m support package to help the sport and physical activity sector through COVID-19, the £20m Community Emergency Fund aims to deliver immediate funding to those most in need.

It's specifically targeted at organisations, including those not currently supported by Sport England, who have a role in supporting the nation to be active but who are experiencing short term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the ongoing crisis.

Awards will be between £300 and £10,000, and in in exceptional circumstances Sport England will consider awards of more than £10,000.

The types of organisations eligible include local sports clubs forced to close at short notice but who are facing ongoing costs around maintenance and utility bills, and voluntary and community sector organisations who deliver or enable sport and physical activity.

This £20 million fund of National Lottery money is designed to complement other sources of funding from the government, such as funds targeted at small businesses.

Further information on the Community Emergency Fund – including seeing if your organisation is eligible and the application process - can be found via https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/our-funds/community-emergency-fund.

National Lottery players raise £30m every week for good causes, funding arts, heritage, sports, voluntary and charity projects around the UK. For more information on good causes in your area go to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk.

Sport England is a public body and invests up to £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport.

It wants everyone in England, regardless of age, background, or level of ability, to feel able to engage in sport and physical activity. That’s why a lot of its work is specifically focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active -like women, disabled people and people on lower incomes.

For further details, visit: www.sportengland.org.