Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) has announced that the ‘CreatedBy’ small grants programme will open again for applications from today, Monday 4th April.

The CreatedBy small grants programme has already made a significant contribution to growing the sport, with over £1.6million granted to date benefitting 18,787 participants by providing kit, equipment and facility improvements, thanks to The National Lottery and Sport England. Clubs and community organisations are being encouraged to make the most of a final opportunity to apply for a grant from the remaining funding pot of at least £400k available to support the growth of the sport.

The tournament, which will now take place from 15th October – 19th November 2022, comes with a commitment from the government to invest in grass roots Rugby League, and prior to the pandemic the CreatedBy small grants programme supported almost 200 projects including funding for lawn mowers, ball-stop netting, refurbishing club houses and equipment to deliver after-school sessions. For more information on what RLWC2021 has proudly delivered so far, click here.

Jon Dutton, Chief Executive of RLWC2021, said: “We had to make the difficult decision to pause our small grants programme last year but, with less than 200 days to go until the rescheduled tournament begins, I’m delighted we are able to re-open this programme, allowing yet more organisations to benefit from a fund which has already made a significant difference in local clubs and communities.

“Thanks to the investment from The National Lottery players and Sport England, we have at least £400k to invest. We encourage any club or community organisation interested to make an application, particularly if the funding can be used to make improvements that focus on environmental sustainability that will help to reduce a club’s financial outgoings, or increase participation from girls, women, and disability sport.”

Nick Wood from Waterhead ALRFC said: “Our club received a grant in late 2021 which we put towards building a gym. The building work is now almost complete and we are delighted with what’s been achieved, with thanks to the CreatedBy funding partners and many hours of fundraising from a talented and dedicated team at the club.

“Within the next four weeks, the gym will be fully kitted out with state-of-the-art weight training equipment and close contact area that will provide a first-class training environment for all the club teams and also for the local community.

“The club, with this investment, looks and feels reinvigorated with teams running all the way from ‘newbies’ (up to six years) to the two healthy open age teams and girls’ teams. The open age male first team is in the National Cup Final in April for the first time in its history and the club, despite the major cash outlay on the gym, is in a healthy financial state.

“Many thanks to the CreatedBy funding partners for providing a vital element into what is making our club and community a truly great one.”