Littlehampton cricketers thank Sport England for £1,500 emergency grant

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

In response, on March 31 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.

The grant will allow Littlehampton Cricket Club to cover their rent and maintenance costs of the club during this difficult time.

Ian Birbeck, Littlehampton Cricket Club’s secretary, said: “It is a frustrating time for all cricket clubs.

“The sun is shining, the ground is ready for cricket but the pandemic has meant as well as not being able to play cricket that we are limited in terms of raising money to help run the club.

“The bills continue to come in. The grant is a welcome support. Littlehampton would like to thank Sport England for their support.”

Sport England have also awarded £864 to Littlehampton Croquet Club for lawn maintenance.

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 Littlehampton Cricket Club to help it through these extremely challenging times.”