Grassroots sports clubs across the UK will have the opportunity to apply for a share of £500,000 through Flutter Entertainment’s 2026 Cash4Clubs programme.
Former England footballers Alan Shearer and Graeme Souness are supporting this year’s initiative, which is delivered by Sported UK.
Successful applicants will receive grants of £2,000, while five clubs will be awarded £10,000 each for larger projects. Applications for the 2026 programme open on October 1.
Grants aimed at grassroots sport
The Cash4Clubs funding is intended to help community sports organisations deal with rising costs while encouraging participation.
Clubs can use the grants to attract new members, purchase equipment and increase participation in sport and physical activity.
The 2026 programme will continue to focus on adult participation. It will also support clubs using sport to address wider social issues, including mental health challenges, rural isolation and economic deprivation.
Previous Cash4Clubs recipients have represented as many as 100 different sports, showing the programme’s broad focus beyond football.
Shearer and Souness support programme
Alan Shearer has backed the programme after seeing the effect a Cash4Clubs grant had on Newcastle Panthers, whose LGBTQIA+ football team received funding earlier in the year.
Shearer said the grant had benefited members of the local community through the club and through the wider message created by its activities. He encouraged grassroots clubs to apply when the next application window opens.
Graeme Souness has also participated directly in the programme. Earlier this year, he visited Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare FC in Midlothian and took part in a training session after the club received a Cash4Clubs award.
Souness said relatively small grants can have a significant effect on grassroots clubs and community organisations, particularly when they are dealing with financial difficulties.
Cash4Clubs reaches new funding milestone
Cash4Clubs has distributed more than £7 million to community sport across the UK and Ireland since the initiative launched in 2008.
Since 2024, the programme has distributed £1.3 million to 640 clubs. The latest £500,000 funding round continues the programme’s focus on supporting local sports organisations.
The 2026 grants are structured around two levels of funding. Most successful clubs will receive £2,000, while five organisations will receive £10,000 for larger-scale projects.
Flutter continues community initiatives
The latest Cash4Clubs programme forms part of Flutter Entertainment’s broader charitable activity.
The company has also increased its annual contribution to the Leeds Rhinos Foundation from £25,000 to £36,000. Its Sky Bet brand sponsors the English Football League and has used that relationship to promote the British Heart Foundation.
Flutter’s Paddy Power brand has also used its sponsorship of the PDC World Darts Championship to raise awareness of prostate cancer.
The 2026 Cash4Clubs programme adds another community-focused initiative, with applications opening on October 1 and funding available to grassroots clubs across the UK.
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