Coach Core gets nearly £1 million to double apprenticeship scheme

Around 200 new young coaches will be able to join an apprenticeship scheme after an award of £995,500 to The Royal Foundation to double the reach of its Coach Core programme.

The National Lottery money will fund 10 new sites in England over the next three years, enabling Coach Core to support more young people who are not in education or employment.

Founded in 2012 by The Royal Foundation, Coach Core was driven by a desire to inspire 16 to 24-year-olds and create the next generation of sports coaches.

The apprenticeship programme has already trained more than 300 young people and Coach Core’s head of programmes, Gary Laybourne, welcomed the investment.

“This funding from Sport England is a pivotal moment for Coach Core,” he said. “It will double the impact of our programme and help more young people than ever to harness the power of sport.

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New coaches will be able to join Coach Core, across 10 new sites

“It not only means that hundreds of young people from challenging, diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds will get the chance to take on exciting opportunities in the world of sport, but also that they can go on to inspire their communities for many more generations to come.”

Some of the biggest sports clubs in the country, including West Ham United, Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough FC, provide unrivalled tuition, pay apprentices and equip them for a future career.

The announcement of the funding was made by our Chief Executive Jennie Price at the annual Coach Core Awards – held at Loughborough University and attended by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex today.

Newcastle and the Black Country will be the first of the 10 new sites to open, and our chief executive is excited to see how the money will help Coach Core grow.

“I’m very impressed by what they have achieved so far,” she said. “Coach Core doesn’t only change the lives of the young people they work with, they help others get active too.

“If your coach is someone you can relate to, you’re much more likely to feel comfortable.

“Plenty of people walk away from sport and activity opportunities because they feel they just don’t belong. Coach Core graduates send an important message: if I can do this, maybe you can too.”

The Duke and Duchess each presented an award at the ceremony after taking part in drills and team games and meeting this year’s graduates.