Cricket Ireland is delighted to confirm that just over €1.8m in funding for cricket has been awarded today via the Community Sports Facilities Fund, formerly the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, and Minister for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne TD.
This significant investment was announced in addition to a previous allocation of almost €490k in funding for cricket equipment in May of this year, bringing the total allocation for cricket projects under this current round to almost €2.3m.
The funding was part of an overall package of €230 million in allocations for sport in the latest round of the programme.
Welcoming the announcement of the funding, Cricket Ireland CEO, Warren Deutrom said:
“We are delighted to see cricket clubs and cricket related projects reaping the benefits of this latest round of funding. We offer our sincere thanks to Minister Martin, Minister Byrne, and the team in the Department of Sport for their ongoing support through this hugely beneficial scheme.
This major investment in community cricket will greatly aid our goal of delivering quality welcoming and accessible environments that promote positive cricket experiences for everyone.
We are especially pleased for the clubs and projects that have received funding today, and we encourage all eligible clubs to make the most of this outstanding programme in future rounds to enhance facilities for their members and the wider community.
Over the past year, Cricket Ireland, together with the Provincial Unions, have collaborated closely with clubs, offering support with their applications. It is gratifying to see those efforts now paying off. We have also consistently advocated for increased government investment in cricket on behalf of our clubs.
This funding provides a significant boost for Irish cricket, following closely on the government’s recent decision to allow the proposed National Cricket Centre at the Sport Ireland Campus to move to the pre-tender stage. We remain hopeful that further funding for cricket through the Large-Scale Sports Infrastructure Programme will be announced in the coming weeks.”
The full list of Allocations under the programme can be found here