A netball club's costs run beyond kit: court hire, umpire fees, league affiliation, travel to away fixtures to name a few. Subs cover the cost of part of this however sponsor, where the club has one, covers the kit. The remaining gap in funding is usually filled by a mix of grants and fundraising rather than any single source.
England Netball funding
England Netball received £21.2 million in Sport England funding over the current five-year cycle, directed at growing participation under its Adventure Strategy and Sport England's Uniting the Movement plan. This funding will enable England Netball to drive sustained change with the aim of opening netball up to new audiences specifically focusing on tackling inequalities, levelling up access and helping to engage more people in netball. None of this funding arrives as a lump sum to individual clubs. It flows through participation and facility grants administered at county level, so a club's first step is checking with its county netball association for what funding opportunities are currently available , rather than searching England Netball's national pages alone.
Sport England and Active Partnerships funding
Sport England funds netball indirectly through the 43 Active Partnerships which is a nationwide movement, physical activity and sport network covering every part of England. Active Partnerships do not usually distribute grants directly. They hold local knowledge of what funding is available and connect clubs to it.A club sitting inside a Place Partnership area, one of the locations identified as facing the highest barriers to participation, has access to funding routes clubs outside those areas do not.
Local authority and community grants
Local authority grant schemes vary widely. Every council in England runs some form of community grant programme, with amounts ranging from a few hundred pounds to £50,000 depending on the authority and the scheme. Most netball clubs sit at the smaller end of this range, and a club applying to two or three schemes in a season covers a meaningful share of its running costs.
Sponsorship covers kit, not the whole season
A local business sponsoring a netball club's kit solves one cost precisely. The money arrives before the season starts rather than trickling in through subs, but it rarely stretches to court hire or umpire fees. For the full approach to finding and approaching a sponsor, read how to write a sponsorship proposal for a netball club.
Subs, and why they should not carry the whole cost
Subs remain the baseline funding source for most grassroots netball clubs, and should stay there rather than rising to cover every gap sponsorship and grants are unable to fill. A club pushing rising costs entirely onto subs prices out the players a grassroots club exists to include. Treat subs as the floor, and treat sponsorship and grants as the routes keeping the floor from rising every season.
Putting the routes together
A club with a full funding picture typically layers subs as the baseline, a kit sponsor covering match and training wear, and a county or local authority grant covering court hire or travel costs sponsorship does not reach. Start with sponsorship, since it delivers the fastest result, then apply for a grant once the kit is sorted.
Your Kit, Funded. Register a netball club at kitfunder.ai and Kit Funder matches you with a local business ready to fund the season's kit, at no cost to the club.
Common questions about grassroots netball funding
What is the best way to fund a grassroots netball club?
Most well-funded netball clubs combine three sources: player subs as the baseline, a kit sponsor covering match and training wear, and a county or local authority grant covering costs sponsorship does not reach, such as court hire or travel.
Does England Netball offer grants to grassroots clubs?
England Netball administers participation and facility grants through county netball associations, funded by a £21.2 million Sport England investment over the current five-year cycle. Check with the relevant county netball association for what grants are currently open.
How does Sport England funding reach grassroots netball clubs?
Sport England funds netball indirectly through the 43 Active Partnerships, which hold local knowledge of available funding and connect clubs to it rather than distributing grants directly.
Is there a free way to get a netball club's kit sponsored?
Kit Funder matches netball clubs with local businesses funding co-branded kit, at no cost to the club and with no sponsorship experience needed. My Club Group designs and delivers the kit once the match is confirmed.
