London Marathon Foundation Awards £2.3M Boosting Community Sport Across London Boroughs

More than £2.3 million has been awarded by the London Marathon Foundation to support community sport and physical activity across the capital since October 2025.

This latest round of funding comes through the Foundation’s Active Spaces Fund, which improves spaces and facilities that enable children, young people and underserved communities to be active in London. It brings the total amount awarded by the Foundation to £120 million since its creation in 1981.

Benefits of the TCS London Marathon last all year round

The funding is made possible by the Foundation’s events company, London Marathon Events – organisers of the TCS London Marathon, which takes place in just 10 days’ time on Sunday 26 April. The event’s impact extends far beyond the Finish Line – not only are its surplus profits passed as corporate Gift Aid to the Foundation, but 85% of participants in the 2025 TCS London Marathon reported feeling happier because of training for and running the event, while 80% of spectators said they felt inspired to be more physically active (Sheffield Hallam University, 2026).

The Foundation’s funding helps communities harness this feel-good power of sport and physical activity all year round. Two of the projects announced today sit close to the iconic TCS London Marathon route – a health and fitness programme for families at the Hawskmoor Youth Hub in Greenwich, and the transformation of the Stebondale Pitch in Millwall Park, Tower Hamlets – ensuring the health and wellbeing benefits of the London Marathon reach local communities long after Event Day.

Alternative funding sources vital for London’s community sport provision

With London Councils estimating an annual budget gap of almost £1.5 billion for London local government in the 2026-27 financial year (London Councils, 2025), alternative funding sources are becoming increasingly vital to protect community sport and physical activity provision – particularly to ensure there are low-cost and free opportunities for less affluent Londoners. Every London borough has received funding support from the Foundation throughout its history, with 17 boroughs benefitting from Active Spaces funding in the past six months alone.

A range of capital projects funded will support long-term access to community sport and physical activity, including a new sports hall at the Selby Centre in Haringey, a Multi-Use Games Area in Mountsfield Park in Lewisham, and a new boxing gym and refurbished facilities at The Pedro Club in Hackney.

Derek Williams, Chair of The Pedro Club, said:

“This amazing capital funding will allow us to create a modern, fit-for-purpose, inclusive space that will inspire people of all ages to engage in sport, improve their health and wellbeing, and build confidence. Together with our other funders (Hackney Council and Sport England), this is a transformative investment in the future of our club and the community that we have continued to serve for almost 100 years. The refurbished facilities will not only honour our legacy heritage but will also ensure we continue to change lives of generations for years to come.”

Active Spaces Fund supports physical activities for all ages and abilities

The 26 projects announced today will support a wide-range of inclusive activities, promoting community and unity through sport and physical activity for all ages and abilities – from walk and talk sessions for sanctuary seekers in Battersea Park, to swimming sessions for people with disabilities in Lambeth and a rehabilitative dance and exercise programme for older people at Guy’s Hospital in Southwark.

Hannah Dye, Head of Programmes at Breathe Arts Health Research, said:

“We’re so thankful to the London Marathon Foundation for supporting our work. This fantastic support will enable us to collaborate directly with physiotherapists to embed a motivating and empowering dance-based physiotherapy programme for older adults at risk of falls. Our programme will inspire and encourage them to continue moving safely at home and in their daily living, improving overall independence.”

This year is set to be the Foundation’s biggest-ever year of funding, with £14 million available to fund initiatives that inspire activity in London and across the UK.

Mike Diaper, Group Funding and Impact Director at the London Marathon Foundation, said:

“Since launching in December 2022, our Active Spaces Fund has awarded more than £11 million, engaging more than 79,000 underserved Londoners into physical activity – and the projects being announced today will enable thousands more to benefit.

“Thanks to the continued growth and innovation of London Marathon Events, we’re fortunate to see our funding increase – but we also know that the level of need is rapidly rising. We’re committed to using our funding where it can have the greatest impact: protecting and expanding access to community sport and physical activity, to support the health and wellbeing of children, young people and underserved communities for years to come.”

The full list of Active Spaces grants awarded since October 2025:

London Borough of Brent

• M.E.M Academy (£80,000) to run boxing sessions for inactive young people in Brent and Ealing

London Borough of Bromley

• Bromley FC Community Sports Trust (£45,000) to install new LED floodlights at their community football pitch
• Harris Primary Academy Crystal Palace (£17,000) to pilot a free, two-year ballet project for primary-aged children across the community, in partnership with charity NXT Ladder Up

London Borough of Camden

• Henna Asian Woman’s Group (£80,000) to provide movement classes for elderly South Asian women
• Queen’s Crescent Community Association (£69,000) to deliver the ‘Healthy Families’ sports and fitness programme

London Borough of Ealing

• W4 Youth Limited (£62,000) towards a junior coach training programme plus additional coaching sessions at Southfield Recreation Ground

Royal Borough of Greenwich

• Charlton Athletic Community Trust (£60,000) to run a health and fitness programme for families at the Hawksmoor Youth Hub

London Borough of Hackney

• The Pedro Club (£400,000) to refurbish the club’s community boxing gym and sports facilities
• Hoxton Hall (£52,000) to run the ‘Life Lift’ programme of low-intensity dance and movement sessions for older people

London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

• Community Cycleworks CIC (£51,000) to run regular cycling sessions at Wormwood Scrubs BMX track and BikeFix workshops for underserved young people

London Borough of Haringey

• The Selby Trust (£500,000) towards a new sports hall at the Selby Centre
• Wave Muswell Hill CIO (£65,000) to expand their ‘Active Together’ programme of adapted and inclusive activities for people with learning disabilities and their families

London Borough of Hounslow

• Intergenerational Music Making (£45,000) to deliver a creative health programme, ‘Active Rhythms’, engaging children and older people together in low-impact movement and musical activities
• C-Change West London (£42,000) to run a free programme of inclusive and accessible physical activities for children and young people

London Borough of Islington

• Islington Council (£36,300) to refurbish the Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) at Pakeman Primary School which will be used for a range of weekly community activities 

London Borough of Lambeth

• WeSwim CIC (£96,000) to run weekly swimming sessions for people with disabilities in Lambeth and Southwark

London Borough of Lewisham

• Lewisham Council (£43,000) to refurbish a MUGA in Mountsfield Park to create a new space for physical activity for all the community to use
• BlindAid (£38,000) to deliver sight-guided yoga sessions for blind and visually impaired adults

London Borough of Newham

• Subco Trust (£78,000) towards accessible and culturally appropriate physical activities for South Asian older people and carers
• The SLM Community Leisure Charitable Trust (£74,000) to upgrade two Pool Pods at the London Aquatics Centre to give people with disabilities and limited movement independent access to the pool
• Curious by Nature London CIC (£22,000) to run forest school-style activities in Beckton Woods for local children and their families, to encourage outdoor play and reclaim the woodland as a safe and inclusive space

London Borough of Southwark

• Breathe Arts Health Research CIC (£48,000) to deliver a rehabilitative dance and exercise programme for older people at Guy’s Hospital in Southwark

London Borough of Tower Hamlets

• London Borough of Tower Hamlets (£150,000) to transform the Stebondale Pitch, Millwall Park into a 3G floodlit 9v9 pitch

London Borough of Wandsworth

• English for Action London (£36,300) to organise walk and talk classes for migrants and sanctuary seekers in Battersea Park

London Borough of Westminster

• London Borough of Westminster (£100,000) collaborating on a programme of capital projects to reduce health inequalities and increase physical activity in priority wards, including refurbishing two MUGAs in Queen’s Park Gardens and a new outdoor gym in Church Street

Pan London

• Chance to Shine (£80,000) to deliver a Street Cricket programme for children and young people at 10 clubs across London