Welsh Sports Foundation

The Welsh Sports Foundation (WSF) is a national charity committed to removing financial barriers to sport and physical activity for children and young people, up to age 25. Designed for Wales, the WSF has been created to ensure it can work alongside Welsh Government, Sport Wales and National Governing Bodies of Sport in Wales, to create an innovative solution to help tackle child poverty in Wales. The WSF’s vision is to create a healthy and happy Wales, where every individual child and young person is able participate in sport and physical activity, where removing the financial barriers will make it happen. In levelling the playing field, the WSF will ensure that no child is left on the side-lines.

The initial objective of the WSF is to concentrate efforts on achieving 3 main goals:

1. Creating a national sports kit and equipment recycling programme;
2. Developing a National Endowment Fund for Sport in Wales; and
3. Introducing Sports Activity Vouchers which can be used towards the costs associated with sports participation such as weekly subs and transport costs.

Established by the Welsh Sports Association, the WSF is an independent charity managed by a skilled Board of Trustees, each bringing vast experience and expertise from a diversity of professional fields.

Pilot Projects

The Welsh Sports Foundation pilot project has been launched with three children’s charities. These are ACE (Action in Caerau & Ely) in Cardiff, Valley Kids in Rhondda Cynon Taff and Y Bont in Caernarfon. These organisations are referral agents who have the authority to apply for vouchers for known individuals to access any sport in Wales.

The Pilot projects will enable children in these areas to access sport and provide the Welsh Sports Foundation with good case studies to build the case for the immediate need for further investment into the Foundation. 

Only the referral agents have access to the application form which must be submitted to the Trustees of the Welsh Sports Foundation, in order to apply for vouchers.

What is the Welsh Sport Foundation’s ‘ask’?

The WSF is seeking seed funding from a number of founder donors. Our aim is to attract £1.5m. £500k of this will be invested in the WSF’s infrastructure and establishing its core activities, which will primarily focus on the creation of a digital sports voucher scheme and a recycling programme. The remaining £1m will be used to create a National Endowment for Sport in Wales, the first of its kind for sport in the UK.

Founder donors would be recognised publicly in the creation of this endowment.

Using these founding donations, the WSF has set an ambitious target of building a £10m Endowment as part of creating a modern, digital savvy 21st century Charitable Foundation.

Why do we need the Welsh Sports Foundation?

Based on research, the WSF has identified the specific further support needed to fully realise the Vision for Sport in Wales—a nation where everyone can have a lifetime enjoyment of sport… (and) an active nation with as many people as possible inspired to be active through sport.

As acknowledged in world-leading Welsh Government policy and legislation, access to, and participation in, sport and other physical activity for children and young people is essential for the wellbeing of future generations. However, without a targeted commitment to overcoming the real barriers they face, children and young people from low-income backgrounds across Wales will fall even further behind.

The WSF represents a unique opportunity to both enhance the quality of life for children and young people in Wales, while also making a demonstrable and positive impact on Welsh Government poverty and environmental targets, both nationally and globally. These include:

• Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (2015): Outlines Wales’s path towards 7 key wellbeing goals, including a Globally Responsible Wales, A More Equal Wales, A Resilient Wales, A Healthier Wales, and a Prosperous Wales.
• Child Poverty Strategy for Wales (2015): The Welsh Government commitment to eradicate child poverty by 2020 and reduce the inequalities which exist in the education, health and economic outcomes of children and families living in poverty. This is a commitment which has not yet been met.
• Net Zero Wales: The Welsh Government strategy to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, which is included in the Environment (Wales) Act 2016.
• Towards Zero Waste & Beyond Recycling: Strategies that sets out Wales’s commitment to eliminating all waste going to landfill or incinerators by 2050, and to transition to a circular economy where unnecessary waste is prevented, products are re-used and repair and remanufacturing are a core part of our society.
• United Nations Sustainability Goals: A multinational pledge signed by all member states in 2015, which includes the goal of ‘Responsible Consumption’ that requires substantially reducing waste through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse by 2030.

The WSF also aligns with a number of the recommendations made recently by the Culture, Communication, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee in a report on participation in sport and physical activity in disadvantaged areas.

There are many examples of organisations across Wales doing fantastic work in these areas, such as social enterprises like Play it Again Sport, and local rugby clubs starting boot banks to help families struggling with the cost of living. Initiatives such as Welsh Government’s Pupil Development Grant also provide much needed support for struggling families. However, these are typically limited in their scope and application. The WSF is the only organisation in Wales that is dedicated to:

• Supporting individual children with little or no financial means directly, to enable them to have access to sport and physical activity.
• Running an environmentally sound, carbon footprint reducing, Wales-wide, recycling and distribution programme for sports kit and equipment for those in need.
• Raising the profile and value of philanthropic giving in sport as a ‘good cause’.
• Raising funds to create a National Endowment for Sport, so that the legacy of investments and donations will help, not just today’s children, but also our future generations.

Would you like to make a real difference to young lives?

Please contact us to learn more about how you can become a Founder Donor and help make sure that no child in Wales is left on the side-line.

Phone: 029 2033 4972
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.welshsportsfoundation.wales
Socials: @WSFSCC on Twitter and @Welsh Sports Foundation on LinkedIn

The Welsh Sports Foundation is registered with the Chairty Commission for England and Wales. Charity Number 1199523

Registered Address: Welsh Sports Foundation, c/o Welsh Sports Association. National Centre, Sophia Gardens. Cardiff. CF11 9SW