A record €150 million has been allocated by the Irish Government in the latest round of the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP).
€144 million has been allocated to almost 1,900 applications with €6 million kept in reserve for successful appeals lodged by unsuccessful applicants.
Among the successful regional applications, there are eight League of Ireland football clubs.
DCU and Bohemian FC's application for the development of an all-weather pitch at the DCU Sports Campus received the maximum €300,000 as did an upgrade of Indoor Athletics Centre of Excellence in Longford.
It is not just traditional sports included in the allocations, however.
The Irish Girl Guides will be pleased too with the allocation of €300,000 to invest in their Health and Wellness Facility in Dublin.
The full list of the Regional Capital Allocations and Local Capital Allocations have both been published online by the government.
Reacting to the announcement of the allocations on Friday Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, said:
“Sport is crucial for all communities in Ireland.
"There was a record number of applications for these grants and the government responded with the most significant level of individual awards ever.
“It has been a tough two years for many sports clubs but the pandemic really demonstrated the importance of sport for our collective wellbeing. The grants we are announcing today will significantly improve sports facilities in every county. There is a huge variety of different sports covered and I was particularly pleased that the scoring system placed an even greater emphasis on female participation.
“Over 30 sports and activities are represented, ranging from competitive, track and field games right through to walking.
“I want to thank all of the volunteers associated with these clubs for their tireless work and their commitment to improving their facilities to benefit all members.”
🚨€150M for Sports Capital⚽
🚨 1,865 Individual Grants🏐
🚨 €127M Local Projects🏉
🚨€17M Regional Projects🚴
Delighted to confirm the single, largest investment in grassroots sport in the history of the State today. Many thanks to @mmcgrathtd for his support.
— Jack Chambers TD (@jackfchambers) February 11, 2022
Meanwhile, Minister of State with responsibility for Sport, Jack Chambers, felt the large number of grantees and the wide variety of sports funded was important:
“Anybody involved in sport at local level knows the importance of the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme.
"I am delighted that today’s announcement represents the highest level of funding ever provided for any round of the Programme.
“As well as the major field sports, funding is being provided to tennis clubs, cricket, boxing, kayaking, wheelchair sports and martial arts to name just some. It is great to see crowds back at big sporting events in recent weeks but our key focus is to get as many people participating as possible.
"COVID-19 revealed to us all the importance of community and I am particularly pleased that so many community centres and organisations have been allocated funding to develop projects in towns and villages across the country. If we want to achieve our participation targets, we must provide high-quality facilities and that is what today’s announcement is all about."
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