Rugby League World Cup 2021: ‘CreatedBy’ small grants programme re-opens for applications

Sheffield Eagles wheelchair rugby league team

Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) has announced that the ‘CreatedBy’ small grants programme is now open again.

The CreatedBy small grants programme has already made a significant contribution to growing the sport, with over £1.6million granted to date benefitting 18,787 participants by providing kit, equipment and facility improvements, thanks to The National Lottery and Sport England. Clubs and community organisations are being encouraged to make the most of a final opportunity to apply for a grant from the remaining funding pot of at least £400k available to support the growth of the sport.

The tournament, which will now take place from 15 October – 19 November 2022, comes with a commitment from the government to invest in grass roots Rugby League, and prior to the pandemic the CreatedBy small grants programme supported almost 200 projects including funding for lawn mowers, ball-stop netting, refurbishing club houses and equipment to deliver after-school sessions.

The Eagles Foundation received £16,694.71, which was awarded to help more people play Rugby League at grassroots level in Sheffield, and will fund the foundation’s new Wheelchair Rugby League activity.

The funding allowed for the purchase 8 sports wheelchairs, balls, tags and cones for training and contributed towards the cost of purchasing goalposts and post protectors bespoke for Wheelchair Rugby League. This enabled the launch of Wheelchair Rugby League activity in Sheffield with weekly sessions now taking place every Monday.

David Butler, Trustee of the Eagles Foundation said:

“We are very grateful to RLWC 2021, the RFL and Sport England for supporting our CreatedBy bid and their recognition that The Eagles Foundation is a trusted partner to deliver against our shared objectives,

"We want to make Rugby League accessible to as many people as possible in Sheffield and with Wheelchair Rugby League being so inclusive, this grant makes a huge and positive difference to our objectives.”

Forge Valley School from Sheffield were also awarded £2,091.26 to support School Games Organisers across South Yorkshire with equipment to run and develop Tag Rugby League competitions as part of the county wide approach / offer.

For more information on what RLWC2021 has proudly delivered so far, click here.

Jon Dutton, Chief Executive of RLWC2021, said:

“We had to make the difficult decision to pause our small grants programme last year but, with less than 200 days to go until the rescheduled tournament begins, I’m delighted we are able to re-open this programme, allowing yet more organisations to benefit from a fund which has already made a significant difference in local clubs and communities.  

“Thanks to the investment from The National Lottery players and Sport England, we have at least £400k to invest. We encourage any club or community organisation interested to make an application, particularly if the funding can be used to make improvements that focus on environmental sustainability that will help to reduce a club’s financial outgoings, or increase participation from girls, women, and disability sport.”

To apply for a CreatedBy small grant, click here.