Skip to content

New fund to help change young people's lives through sport and physical activity

We've committed £7.5 million of National Lottery money to the new Go! London fund which opens today with grants of up to £150,000 available.

7th March 2023

We’ve partnered with the Mayor of London and the London Marathon Foundation to launch a £19.5 million community sports fund aimed at helping under-served and vulnerable young people to access and enjoy sport and physical activity.

The Go! London fund aims to invest at least £10m into grassroots sport and physical activity initiatives in the capital by 2025, transforming the lives of Londoners aged 4-24.

We’ve committed £7.5m of the total fund amount, with the London Marathon Foundation doing the same and City Hall adding £4.5m.

A group of girls play basketball in a sports hall

Charities, youth groups, social enterprises and faith groups can apply today for grants from £40,000 to £150,000, to improve existing sport and physical activity programmes or deliver new services such as youth mentoring or extra support for young people with special educational, disability or mental health needs.

Our investment in the fund comes as part of our Uniting the Movement Strategy, which has as one of its Five Big Issues creating positive experiences of sport and physical activity for children and young people.

"The launch of the Go! London fund is another hugely positive step in improving the lives of young people through sport and physical activity," said Lisa Dodd-Mayne, our executive director of place.

"It supports our aim of increasing activity, decreasing inactivity, reducing inequalities and improving the positive experience for children and young people. 

"Creating positive experiences for children and young people is a key issue Sport England looks to tackle through our Uniting the Movement strategy.

"With the help of £7.5m from Sport England over five years, it will be exciting to see how this announcement will help unlock the potential of young Londoners.”

Go! London is aiming to improve the lives of young people facing physical, social, economic or educational challenges by using sport and physical activity to empower them to fulfil their potential by improving their physical and mental wellbeing, safety, employability and community relationships.
 

"The launch of the Go! London fund is another hugely positive step in improving the lives of young people through sport and physical activity."

Lisa Dodd-Mayne

Executive director of place, Sport England

The fund, which will be supported by London Marathon Events and London Sport, will run for at least five years with several funding opportunities available later this year and in 2024.

“As the biggest community sport fund in London, this partnership, backed by National Lottery investment from Sport England, will change the lives of thousands of young Londoners and help them reap the physical, mental and social benefits of an active life,” said Emily Robinson, CEO of London Sport.

“London Sport is proud to contribute to this unique collaboration, and we’re excited to work with some of our biggest partners to tackle inactivity and inequality in the capital.”
 

Apply now

For more information about the application process, visit the Go! London website.

Go! London

Further reaction

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London

“I’m thrilled to be launching my new Go! London fund, my biggest ever community sport fund, to improve the accessibility of sport for under-served young Londoners.   

“I know the huge difference that sport can make to physical, mental and emotional wellbeing and it’s vital that all young people can take full advantage of these benefits, no matter their personal circumstances. 

“City Hall will work closely with our Go! London partners to seek new opportunities to support London’s youth through sport, building a better, safer, more prosperous London for all.”

Catherine Anderson, executive director, London Marathon Foundation

“The creation of the Go! London Partnership is a unique collaborative project and we are proud that the London Marathon Foundation is a founding funder and London Marathon Events is a strategic partner for what will be the biggest community sport fund in London. 

“Our vision is Inspiring Activity and, since the London Marathon was founded in 1981, we have worked to inspire people to get active.

“The Go! London fund will create exciting new opportunities for children and young people to lead active and healthy lives.

“We look forward to seeing projects and initiatives supported by Go! London using the transformative power of sport and physical activity to bring about long-term, positive change across the capital.”

Sign up to our newsletter

You can find out exactly how we'll look after your personal data, but rest assured we’ll only use it to make sure you receive our newsletter, to understand how you interact with our newsletter, and to provide administrative information about our newsletter.