Flutter’s Sky Bet and EFL Kickstart £6m ‘Building Foundations’ Fund

Flutter Entertainment’s Sky Bet has teamed up with the English Football League (EFL) to kick off the ‘Building Foundations’ Fund, earmarking £6 million for grassroots initiatives in England and Wales. This fund, unprecedented in its scope and focus on community activities, allows the 72 EFL clubs to apply for grants to either bolster their current community projects or to launch new ones.

Sky Bet will channel £1 million annually into the fund starting with the 2023/24 season. A panel, including the esteemed Sky Bet ambassador Jeff Stelling, will oversee the allocation of the funds, catering to various community-enhancing categories, including the upgrade of local sports infrastructures and the promotion of football’s physical and social virtues.

To celebrate the fund’s inauguration, each EFL club’s Club Community Organisations (CCOs) will initially receive a £10,000 grant.

Sky Bet’s Managing Director, Dan Colton, shared his pride in the solid partnership with the EFL and his eagerness to elevate their collaboration with this initiative. Rick Parry, EFL’s chair, highlighted the rarity and value of such an unrestricted community fund and expressed gratitude towards Sky Bet for its steadfast support.

Jeff Stelling, the beloved former lead presenter of Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, expressed his enthusiasm for the fund’s potential impact, considering his deep affection for the EFL and awareness of the financial hurdles lower league clubs face.

In a display of the fund’s practical benefits, Emile Heskey, the former footballer of Leicester City and Liverpool fame, joined Colton and Parry at Barnsley to engage with the beneficiaries of a walking football initiative for over-35s, set to gain from the forthcoming season’s funds. Meanwhile, Blackburn Rovers have plans to channel their £10,000 towards ‘Remember the Rovers’, a project designed to connect individuals living with dementia through shared football memories.