A NEW fund to help boost community sport facilities in Wales has allocated over £1m to 118 clubs and organisations in Wales.

Projects across the country have benefited from the Place for Sport grant, with financial awards ranging from £250 up to the largest grant of £50,000.

Earlier this year the Welsh Government allocated £5million for capital projects across Welsh sport. Funding was divided up by Sport Wales to benefit a range of projects, including £1million for applications from the public.

A total of 319 applications were submitted for the £1million pot, with the requests for funding reaching more than £15million for total project costs worth more than £20million.

Three sporting clubs from Wrexham have benefitted from the fund:

Olympus Gymnastics Club were awarded £25,000.00

Brickfield Rangers Football Club were awarded £18,720.00

Rhosddu United Youth Football Club were awarded £1,262.00

Three clubs from Flintshire were also beneficiaries of the fund:

Mold Cricket Club were awarded £5,000.00

Copperfields Bowling Club were awarded £4,000.00

Greenfield FC Youth were awarded £3,500.00

Just over £1m has been awarded to projects covering 28 different sports.

Sport Wales’ Director of Elite Sport, Brian Davies said: “The response to the application process was quite staggering really.

“We were able to direct many people to our other grant schemes, but it was a real challenge making the final awards.

“We’re delighted that so many clubs, across so many sports, are going to be strengthened because of the investments we’ve been able to make.

“Hopefully, given the response we had, we can make an excellent case for additional funding from Welsh Government in the future.”

The applicants will also make a significant contribution to their project, with Sport Wales funding accounting for an average of 52% of total costs.

Mr Davies added: “We really hope these projects will have a lasting impact on new and existing participants for years to come.”

On the launch of the fund, Sam Warburton OBE, whose first club was Rhiwbina RFC, said: "I was fortunate enough to train with excellent facilities growing up in Cardiff. However, I know that not all sports or athletes are that lucky so it's important we improve the facilities across Wales to encourage the next generation to have fun and achieve their potential.”

Lord Elis-Thomas, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism said: “Whether it’s the hall you dance in or the pitch you play on, having the right sports facilities in place has a big impact on a person’s experience – and likelihood of them participating on a regular basis.

“Our investment in facilities in partnership with Sport Wales demonstrates a firm commitment to support a healthy and active Wales. it’s very pleasing to see we’ve been able to allocate funding to ensure a good geographical spread across Wales and across so many sports.”

For more information on community grants available through Sport Wales visit www.sport.wales or www.clubsolutions.wales