More amateur sports charities have been set up and the sector's income has increased in the years following the London 2012 Olympics, an analysis by the Charities Aid Foundation has found.
In the two years that followed the games being held in the capital, there was an 11 per cent increase in the number of large amateur sports charities in England and Wales. The same period also saw funding for amateur sports charities surge to £235m per year, up 9 per cent from the year previous to the 2012 Olympics.
To coincide with Rio 2016, CAF analysed the published financial returns of 4,200 charities which list amateur sports as their sole cause between 2012 and 2014 – the most recent year for which data is available.
It found that this “Olympic boost” has mainly been felt by larger amateur sports charities, with an income of over £100,000.
Money received by larger charities in donations and other sources of income grew 10 per cent between 2012 and 2014, up from £183.7m to £202m. The number of amateur sports charities with an income greater than £100,000 rose from 174 to 194.
Susan Pinkney, head of research at the Charities Aid Foundation, said: “Once again the nation has been enthralled by Team GB and their heroics at the Olympics in Rio, winning medals in a wide variety of sports.
“Closer to home, it is fantastic to see that the sporting legacy left behind by the 2012 Olympics appears to be thriving.
“For the millions inspired by the brilliant performances of our Olympians, charities play a big part in helping to provide the funding, facilities and inspiration to get them to take up sports and be active.
“Many of our Team GB heroes have been motivated and supported by large and small sports charities and coached by volunteers on their route to success.
“While it is great to see the rise in income of sports charities across the UK, it’ll be important to ensure that the vital role of smaller grassroots charities does not get overlooked.
"Following the inspiring success of Team GB in Rio, we hope to see an increase in the number of grassroots organisations dedicated to sport so we can continue to inspire physical activity across the nation and new generations of medal-winning athletes.”
The income of smaller amateur sports charities, with an income of less than £100,000, remained fairly stable in the years after London 2012. With £32.9m shared between 2,698 organisations in 2012, and roughly the same amount shared between 2,619 organisations in 2014.
Big Lottery Refund
However, the Big Lottery Refund campaign is still calling on the government to repay the £425m owed to charities from the London Olympics “as a matter of urgency” and has written to the Prime Minister.
The campaign, run by the Directory of Social Change, says that the money was raided from the Big Lottery Fund in 2007 in order to make up for a massive shortfall in funding for the 2012 Olympics.
It says that this refund, for money which could have funded over 10,000 charities, is now 1466 days overdue.
The campaign has repeatedly called on the government to take on the role of creditor in the Olympics assets deal by repaying the Big Lottery Fund now, against future income from the sale of assets. It said that the Prime Minister had previously said that “every pound the government chose to snaffle in that way is a pound that cannot go to help community groups”.
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