New lottery aims to raise funds for grassroots sports clubs
Howard Lake | 1 May 2025 | News
A new lottery opens today which is designed “to raise millions of pounds for grassroots sports clubs across Britain”.
Community sport charity Sported is launching the Grassroots Sport Lottery to try to fill the funding gap that threatens may clubs’ viability.
The lottery is being set up in partnership with lottery operator Gatherwell and will allow Sported – founded in 2008 as a legacy initiative from London 2012 – to inject extra investment into local sport for good initiatives. It will also enable grassroots groups to run their own lotteries to finance items such as equipment and facilities, as well as keeping physical activity accessible to all within their communities.
Advertisement
Tickets for the lottery will cost £1 with a draw each Saturday and a top prize of £25,000 – with half of the price of each ticket going directly back into grassroots sport.
Gatherwell
Phil Wright, General Manager – Gatherwell and Head of Commercial at Jumbo UK, said:
“We are delighted that Gatherwell has been awarded the opportunity to deliver The Grassroots Sport Lottery which is being set up and run by Sported… As a passionate sportsperson myself, I’ve seen the power of sport firsthand but “I’m also acutely aware of the increasing costs and barriers that many people face in taking part. We hope The Grassroots Sport Lottery can play a vital part in helping to provide resources for clubs and opportunities for all to be involved with sport and physical activity.”
Sported’s chief executive officer Sarah Kaye added.
“We hear repeatedly of the difficulty that grassroots sport has in raising the cash to underpin the incredible contributions they make within our communities. There are significant challenges in running costs for those operating their own facilities while also ensuring activities are affordable to all parts of society.
“Over half of the groups we work with have flagged young people dropping out because of cost pressures. Our hope is that The Grassroots Sport Lottery will provide a simple, cost-effective way to generate priceless funds to ensure their doors remain open.”
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.