Flutter's Sky Bet brand and the EFL will make £6 million available for community projects in England and Wales through the new Building Foundations fund. Sky Bet is committed to investing £1 million a year into the fund
Sky Bet, the UK's leading sports betting brand from Flutter Entertainment, the main partner of the English Football League (EFL), and the EFL are launching the Building Foundations Fund to provide £6m of vital funding for community projects in England and Wales.
The Building Foundations Fund is the largest multi-year, sponsor-backed fund dedicated exclusively to community activities and will give the EFL's 72 clubs the chance to apply for grants of up to £100.000 to invest in ongoing programs or to develop new initiatives.
From the 2023/24 season, Sky Bet will invest £1m per year into the fund. A judging panel of industry experts, including Sky Bet ambassador Jeff Stelling, will decide the winning bids across a number of categories, such as improving local sporting facilities or promoting the physical and social benefits of gaming. To mark the launch of the Building Foundations Fund, club community organizations (CCOs) from each of the 72 EFL clubs will have the opportunity to spend an initial grant of £10.000.
Dan Colton, chief executive of Sky Bet, said: “We are incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership with the EFL – it's a relationship that has gone from strength to strength over the last ten years and we wanted to raise the bar even further with the Fund.' Building Foundations'. The Fund is a key pillar of our new agreement with the EFL and we are thrilled to see the impact the £6 million will have on such important projects across England and Wales.”
Rick Parry, President of the EFL, said: “Unrestricted funding for community activities of this scale is difficult to come by and represents an exciting opportunity for EFL clubs to further enhance impact in the areas where they are located. We are extremely grateful to Sky Bet for its continued support of the professional game in this country and this new investment through the 'Building Foundations' fund will create a lasting legacy for the partnership between the EFL and Sky Bet."
Jeff Stelling, former main presenter of Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, said: “Everyone knows my love for English football. I also know only too well how lower league clubs and the communities around them struggle for financial support. I am delighted to participate in the Building Foundations Fund and truly believe it represents a great opportunity to make a difference."
Former Leicester City, Liverpool and England star Emile Heskey joined Sky Bet chief executive Dan Colton and EFL chairman Rick Parry on Barnsley's 3G pitch to meet participants of his football program on foot, an existing community program for over 35s which will benefit from funding for 2023/24.
Blackburn Rovers intend to use the initial £10.000 to grow its 'Remember the Rovers' programme, which runs weekly sessions at Ewood Park, bringing together people with dementia, who might otherwise find themselves socially isolated, through power of football memories.
