Every grassroots team in the UK runs on the same thing: volunteers giving up their evenings and weekends so other people can play. What most of them don't have is money. Pitch hire, referees, equipment and kit all add up, and the costs keep rising.
This guide looks at why funding is so hard to find at grassroots level, across every sport, and the practical routes that do work: grants, fundraising and sponsorship.
The grassroots funding gap, by the numbers
According to the FORZA State of Grassroots Football Report 2025, 81% of grassroots clubs identify a lack of funding and sponsorship as their biggest challenge. Nearly three-quarters (72%) don't have enough funding to cover basic running costs.
Weekly expenses average £250 or more for almost half of all clubs, and 90% report rising costs. Unlike professional clubs with TV deals and wealthy owners, grassroots teams depend on subs, local fundraisers and sponsorship when they can find it. The picture in cricket, rugby, netball and hockey is much the same.
Why it's so hard to find a sponsor
1. No time, no expertise. 94% of grassroots clubs run entirely on volunteers. The same people are already coaching, organising fixtures, looking after pitches and managing the finances. Adding "find a sponsor" to that list is a big ask.
2. Small teams, small reach. The bigger the club, the easier it is to attract sponsors. Smaller teams often aren't sure how to show what they offer a sponsor, so they don't try.
3. Businesses don't know where to look. Plenty of local businesses want to support their community. They just have no easy way to find the right team.
4. No clear framework. When a team and a business do connect, there's often nothing agreed in writing about what each side provides. Even well-meant sponsorships can fall apart without that.
5. The cold email problem. Most teams end up emailing local businesses and hoping someone says yes. It takes hours, and the hit rate is low.
Funding routes by sport
Each sport has its own season, governing body and funding options. These guides cover the detail:
- Cricket: how to fund a grassroots cricket club and grants for cricket clubs
- Netball: how to fund a grassroots netball club and grants for netball clubs
- Rugby: rugby club sponsorship
- Hockey: hockey club sponsorship
- Football: the grassroots football sponsorship guide
For ideas that work across every sport, see sports club fundraising ideas.
How Kit Funder helps
Kit Funder exists to take the hardest part, finding a sponsor, off a volunteer's plate.
One profile, then the platform does the searching. A team sets up a profile with its sport, location, age group and who it plays for. Businesses set out what they want to support. Kit Funder matches the two, so teams are put in front of sponsors who are already looking for a team like theirs.
Free for teams. There's no subscription, no commission and no hidden cost.
Clear terms from the start. Both sides agree what's included before anything's ordered, so nobody's guessing halfway through the season.
Kit sorted. Once a match is made, My Club Group designs and delivers the co-branded kit, so the team isn't left managing an order on top of everything else.
A bit of good on top. 5% of every sponsorship goes to a local mental health charity, at no extra cost to the team or the sponsor.
Why it matters
The FA's Social Return on Investment report estimates that 15.7 million grassroots football participants contribute £11.8 billion to society in direct economic value, plus more than £3.2 billion in NHS savings through disease prevention. Grassroots sport does a great deal of good, and much of it rests on a small number of volunteers keeping their teams going.
Making sponsorship easier to find, and fairer for both sides, means more of those teams can keep playing.
Get started
Whether you run a Sunday league side, a junior rugby team, a village cricket XI or a netball squad, Kit Funder can help you find a sponsor without the cold emails.
Your Kit, Funded. Set up your team's profile in a few minutes. Get started at kitfunder.ai/teams
Sources: FORZA State of Grassroots Football Report 2025; The FA, Social Return on Investment report.
