THE Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that more than £1m of funding will be made available to sports groups supporting young Londoners at risk of exclusion or getting involved in violence and criminal activity.
Bids are open now for the Mayor’s £1.1m Impact Partnership Fund, which will invest in projects that use sport to support young people at risk of getting involved in crime through creating employment and training opportunities.
Khan has previously funded through his £45m Young Londoners Fund Sport Unites programme, which was launched in March 2018. Khan said: “I have seen first-hand the unique power of sport to engage young people and help them to turn their lives around.
“The organisations that I have brought together today are already making a huge difference to the lives of thousands of young people in our city, which is why I am providing a further £1.1m of funding to help even more sports projects provide positive, meaningful activities to help young people make the right choices in life.
“Serious violent incidents involving young Londoners is down by nearly 20 per cent compared to last year, but we cannot be complacent. We know that to tackle violent crime, we must be tough on the causes of crime. I am doing all that I can on this from City Hall, but we urgently need Government to reverse cuts to youth clubs, schools and local services – or risk failing a generation.”