The London Marathon Charitable Trust (The Trust) has announced it is a founding partner of a new multi-million-pound sport and physical activity fund that will Inspire Activity for young Londoners.

In partnership with the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Sport England, this new fund will see up to £17 million made available for projects that use the power of sport and physical activity to support the health and wellbeing of children and young people across London.

The Trust is the majority funder of this programme, which is pioneering in being the first collaborative fund in London aimed at improving the lives of children and young people most in need through sport and physical activity. In addition to The Trust’s funding support, London Marathon Events (LME) will be a strategic partner for the programme alongside London Sport.

Launching in early 2023, the fund will provide organisations with small and large grants ranging from 12 months to three years, as well as directly investing in young people to develop their ideas and become future leaders in the sector.

Catherine Anderson, Executive Director of The London Marathon Charitable Trust, said: “We are incredibly proud to be a lead founding partner of this exciting new collaborative fund for London, through which we will collectively invest significantly into the future of young Londoners by helping them access the transformative power of physical activity and sport.

“The London Marathon Charitable Trust’s mission – and the vision of the London Marathon’s founders more than forty years ago – is to Inspire Activity for all, and this fund will create many more opportunities for children and young people across London to get active for years to come, having a deep and lasting impact on the city.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am committed to building a safer, fairer, greener and more prosperous city for all Londoners and this sports fund will transform opportunities for our young people across the city.”

Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said: “The pandemic caused real disruption to children and young people’s activity levels, with those from less affluent families and underserved communities the most affected. This funding is going to help develop more opportunities across London to engage with sport and physical activity, and we’re delighted to be teaming up with partners to deliver the funding.”

In autumn 2022, there will be opportunities for organisations to engage in workshops and events across London to help shape the funding programme ahead of its launch next year.