Sporting Equals, the UK’s leading initiative for promoting racial equality in sport, has announced today that it will be distributing £1 million in grants through the Sport for Communities project.
Using Government funding, the grants are aimed at communities where sport can be used to encourage greater integration between people from different ethnic backgrounds, helping to enhance community cohesion and social inclusion.
The first stage of the project involved a mapping exercise of the country identifying regions and locations of communities where these grants could make a difference. The five target regions identified by the research study are London, South East, Midlands, North West and Yorkshire and Humberside.
Sporting Equals Director Novlette Rennie said:
‘For the past eight years, thanks to funding from Sport England in partnership with the Commission for Racial Equality, Sporting Equals has been working with England’s major sports organisations to address issues of racial inequality in sport. Sport for Communities gives us a chance to increase participation and employment opportunities for priority groups within the sports sector’.
We want to ensure that priority communities feel supported at all stages of the grant application process, so we will be hosting a series of Road Shows throughout the country to respond to any questions that people may have.
The dates and venues of these Grant Application Road Shows are available on the Sporting Equals website www.cre.gov.uk/speqs or by contacting the helpline for support and advice on: 0121 710 3017
Richard Caborn MP, Minister for Sport, said:
"It is important that all sections of society are given the opportunity to get involved in sport. Not only does sport help people lead healthier and happier lives it also helps to bring people together and encourage social inclusion. Sport for Communities is about removing the barriers that stop people taking part in sport and enjoying its benefits."
Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, said:
“As the London Marathon showed, and soon the World Cup, sport encourages interaction between communities; it is a key tool in engendering a sense of commonality between us all and a mainstay of the CRE’s integration agenda. But it has to go beyond national events and bring people together every evening in the gym or sports centre and every weekend on the playing field. This money will fund practical projects that enable people to meet and spend time with folk unlike themselves.”
Stephen Baddeley, Interim Chief Executive Sport England, said: "We need to reach out to people from all ethnic groups and backgrounds if we are going to succeed in our drive to get the nation active through sport. Our work with Sporting Equals plays an important role in this drive and we look forward to seeing the impact of the Sport for Communities projects around the country as they help bring the wider benefits of sport to more people.”
For further information, please contact Sporting Equals’ Communications Manager, Hayley Meachin on 0121 710 3018 / 07775602518 or hmeachin@cre.gov.uk
Notes to Editors
Sporting Equals
Sporting Equals is a national initiative working to promote racial equality in sport throughout England. It is a partnership between Sport England and the Commission for Racial Equality.
Sporting Equals is at the forefront of racial equality provision in sport in England, and its Sport for Communities project has recently been awarded £2 million from the government to promote sport within ethnic minority, refugee and migrant communities
The core of its work involves the development and promotion of the Racial Equality Charter for sport (a public pledge signed by the leaders of sport which commits them to pursuing an agenda of racial equality) and the Standards, which provide a framework for equity provision specific to racial equality.
Sporting Equals works with all of the major sports organisations in Britain and has encouraged over 100 organisations to sign the Racial Equality Charter. Over 90 organisations have achieved the Preliminary and Intermediate Levels of the Racial Equality Standard to date. Sporting Equals is a partner in the Equality Standard: A Framework for Sport.
For more information, visit:
www.cre.gov.uk/speqs
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