The Council and its partners, Coventry Sports Foundation, Sky Blues in the Community and Positive Youth Foundation are among 88 projects to receive a share of £15million of national funding to support grassroots sport activity across the country.

The #Ucan project aims to encourage more people in Foleshill to take part in and enjoy sport. The #Ucan team will be running a range of sporting activities and events over the next three years, with activities planned for a variety of age groups from 14 + (including adults).

Activities include badminton, football, cricket, dance, and exercise classes delivered in the heart of Foleshill for the local community. The team will also work with people in the community to deliver the activities they want to take part in or have a go at.

The #Ucan project will offer a range of high quality sporting activities targeting people who have not, or do not currently participate. There will be a special focus on 14-19 year-olds, those aged 40+ and females. The project partners will also support existing groups and coaches to enable them to encourage increased numbers of people to enjoy sporting opportunities.

Councillor Abdul Khan, Cabinet Member culture, leisure, sports, events and parks said:

We are absolutely delighted to receive funding from Sport England’s Community Sport Activation Fund. It will allow us to develop a number of new opportunities to encourage local people to get fit and try something new.

We know that people who take part in sport live longer and lead generally healthier lives than those that don’t do any sport or exercise. So by taking sporting opportunities in to the heart of communities we will ensure we make it as easy as possible for people to try a new sport. We couldn’t have done this without this extra cash – so it really is great news.

Designed in response to local demand, the Community Sport Activation Fund allows local authorities, charities and other organisations to apply for funding for innovative projects that will get more people playing sport.

Mike Diaper, Sport England Director of Community Sport, said:

It’s great to be working with innovative projects, like this one in Coventry because it offers people the chance to get into sport in a way that best suits them.

The investment being made through the Community Sport Activation Fund is making a real difference at a very local level. I’m particularly pleased that more than half the funding is going into projects in deprived areas, helping more people develop a lifelong sporting habit.

The Community Sport Activation Fund is investing a total of £47.5 million of funding over five funding rounds. Already 156 projects have shared in £27.2 million of funding over three rounds, receiving grants of between £50,000 and £250,000 to provide grassroots sport at a very local level.

Guy Ripon, Director of Sky Blues in the Community, said:

We are delighted to be a part of this exciting project. The #UCan initiative really demonstrates the value and strength of partnership working amongst community sports organisations in the city. It is an exciting time for sport in the city with a new long term sports strategy and we are very pleased to be involved in helping achieve the wider vision at this early stage.

The funding received is helping to deliver upon a number of the strategic objectives as part of the proposed Coventry Sports Strategy 2014 – 2024, which will inspire more people within the city to take up and take part in sport.

Activities are due to start at the beginning of July, and information for local people can be found on www.covsport.org.uk.