New 3-year VIY and Barclays partnership to support grassroots sports clubs across the UK

We’re pleased to share that through this partnership with the Barclays Community Sports Fund and Sported, VIY will be able to extend its work supporting grassroots sports clubs to clubs supporting football, cricket and tennis, in some of the UK’s most deprived areas. The fund prioritises projects that make sport more accessible to women and girls, people with disabilities, racially diverse communities, and the LGBTQ+ community, helping tackle inequalities and create inclusive environments.

For VIY, this means continuing to provide young people with practical trade skills and confidence while improving community sports facilities that play a vital role in bringing people together.

Since first partnering with Barclays in 2023, we’ve already:

• Renovated 13 grassroots sports clubs
• Supported over 220 young people to volunteer on these projects
• Seen 95% of young people say they felt more confident, positive and connected after taking part.
• And 100% of venues said they felt more connected to their local community and better equipped to welcome a wider range of people as a result of working with VIY

And now, we’re set to build on that impact with even more ambitious projects.

Kicking things off at Yardley Tennis Club

The first project in our new 3-year partnership with the Barclays Community Sports Fund took us to Yardley Tennis Club in Birmingham, which is also one of the oldest tennis clubs in the UK and still a brilliant hub for the local community today.

Over three weeks, young people from the area, including some who already use the club, worked alongside VIY mentors to build brand new social and seating areas—helping to make the space more welcoming and inclusive to better serve the local community and spectators. It’s exactly the kind of project this partnership is all about: giving young people the chance to learn hands-on skills while improving local spaces that bring people together through sport.

In the final week, we were joined by students from Braidwood Trust School for the Deaf, who got stuck in and helped us finish the transformation in style.

The difference has been huge. What was once a tired, underused outdoor space is now a fresh, vibrant area where people can relax, connect and feel part of the club, whether they’re playing tennis, creating local social connections or just stopping by.

🎥 Check out what Yardley Club Director Stuart had to say about why this project meant so much to the club and the community here.

This is just the beginning, and we can’t wait to get going on more projects like this across the UK in partnership with the Barclays Community Sports Fund and Sported.