The Cost of Living Crisis: The impact on grassroots community sport and recreation, published in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University’s Sport Industry Research Centre and Sport:80, outlines the challenging situation facing clubs across the country this winter.

With energy bills expected to almost double in the coming year, and clubs’ reserves already depleted from Covid-19, these additional costs are likely to be passed on to participants at a time when they can least afford it.

The findings paint a worrying picture for the sector, the participants it supports and the economic and social value it delivers to local communities. The research shows:

• A growing proportion of clubs are in severe financial difficulty, operating with low reserves following Covid-19 – this is currently the case for a quarter of clubs and is expected to rise to a third in the coming year.
• Rising energy costs are putting the future of the sector at huge risk – bills are expected to almost double in the next 12 months, with much greater increases expected for a number of clubs.
• Participation opportunities have fallen much more than anticipated, with a 16 pe cent drop compared with 2019 – the worsening financial climate is affecting clubs’ ability to provide sport and recreation in their communities.
• Access to facilities and public spaces is the main concern for over three quarters of clubs – with closures and service restrictions already happening across the country, this is an urgent priority for clubs who depend on them to provide activity.
• Critically, higher costs will be transferred on to participants– 70 per cent of clubs say they plan to charge members more in fees which will likely impact those on lower incomes and exacerbate existing inequalities in participation.

“Every year the sector delivers almost £10bn in health savings through the prevention of heart disease and stroke, dementia, diabetes, cancer and depression. However, as our latest research shows, rising energy costs and the wider cost of living crisis is putting at risk the long-term sustainability of clubs across the country,” said Lisa Wainwright, CEO of the Sport and Recreation Alliance.

“The wide-reaching benefits grassroot community clubs provide are at risk of being lost if the sector is not supported to survive these challenging times – we need greater recognition of the value our sector creates and a clear commitment to supporting our grassroots clubs and facilities through this difficult period.

“We believe there must be further targeted support to help with rising energy costs for grassroots community clubs and the facilities on which they rely – this includes the extension of support via the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) beyond March 2023.

“Alongside this, it is time to boost the tax and giving benefits available to grassroots community clubs by uplifting key tax thresholds to ensure their value is not further eroded by inflation and allowing eligible clubs to claim Gift Aid on member subscriptions which would increase their value by 25 per cent.”