About SportsAid

SportsAid is the only national charity of its kind – helping young British sportsmen and women aspiring to be the country’s next Olympic, Paralympic, Commonwealth and world champions. The charity’s mission is to encourage, enable and empower the next generation of athletes to achieve their ambitions in both sport and life.

SportsAid is an acknowledged critical system partner by Sport England, the principle investor in the England Talent Pathway environment, and the charity has an established and vibrant working relationships with sport’s national governing bodies (NGBs). Athletes are nominated to SportsAid by the national governing bodies of more than 60 sports based on set criteria from each. SportsAid is currently managing the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), the Backing The Best programme and the Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) on behalf of Sport England, in addition to the core SportsAid Award programme.

Across these programmes SportsAid supports around 5,000 athletes each year – the vast majority aged 12 to 20 – by providing them with the support and resources they need depending on their circumstances and stage of sporting development. This support could be in the form of a financial award to help towards training and competition costs or it may be the provision of expert advice and specific practitioner input, including help to maintain study and sport together. This help from SportsAid acts as a real motivational boost as it is often the first recognition they receive outside of their support network. Most of them have no other meaningful support provision or funding and many rely heavily on their parents or care-givers.

These athletes are Great Britain’s brightest sporting prospects.

“SportsAid is often the first hand to reach across that gap to say they believe in you. That confidence that SportsAid gives in people’s futures, and extra support and recognition, makes a huge difference to young people’s lives at that point in their career. Every Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, we see SportsAid recipients winning medals and being success stories. That pathway is very strong.”

Dame Katherine Grainger
Olympic gold and four-time silver medallist and multiple world champion; SportsAid alumna 

To succeed in sport takes a combination of talent, dedication and hard work…but that’s not always enough to make it to the highest level. Young athletes need financial support as they often rely heavily on their families with little or no funding. Many are unable to afford the cost of travel, equipment, accommodation and various expenses to give them the best chance possible of pursuing their sporting ambitions.

They also lack opportunities to access independent, free, impartial advice across a whole range of areas which are crucial to their development as both athletes and young people. They need mentors, who have previously trodden their path, to further inspire them, share their experiences, act as a sounding board and offer them guidance on navigating the unique challenges they face.

That’s where SportsAid comes in.

Since 1976, the charity has supported tens of thousands of athletes by distributing over £50 million in awards. SportsAid’s extensive alumni stretches across the generations with Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sir Mo Farah, Baroness Grey-Thompson, Dame Sarah Storey, Sir Steve Redgrave, Dame Katherine Grainger, Daley Thompson CBE and Dame Denise Lewis all stand-out names.

More recent alumni include Dame Laura Kenny, Ellie Simmonds OBE, Adam Peaty OBE, Natasha Baker OBE, Tom Daley OBE, Richard Whitehead MBE, Leah Williamson OBE, Maddie Hinch OBE, Jade Jones MBE, Hollie Arnold MBE, Tom Pidcock MBE, Beth Shriever MBE, Alex Yee MBE, Emma Raducanu, Lutalo Muhammad, Dina Asher-Smith and Emily Campbell.

The charity’s impressive track record was highlighted at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games where SportsAid alumni won 154 medals. This included 53 of Team GB’s 65 medals (12 gold, 16 silver, 25 bronze) and 101 of ParalympicsGB’s 124 medals (38 gold, 34 silver and 29 bronze).

Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales became the Patron of SportsAid in 2013 and has met many talented young athletes helped by the charity, as well as Olympians and Paralympians who were previous beneficiaries at training days, performance workshops and fundraising events.

To find out more about Sportsaid’s work, please visit the Sportsaid website via the link below.