Richmond athletes invited to apply for GLL Sport Foundation Awards 2026 – applications open 20 December
Talented athletes and sportspeople from Richmond upon Thames are being encouraged to apply for the GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) Awards 2026, the UK’s largest independent athlete support scheme, when applications open on 20 December 2025.
The awards offer a unique package of support designed to help local athletes reach their potential, including financial bursaries, free access to gyms, swimming pools and sports facilities, physiotherapy, lifestyle mentoring, and mental health and wellbeing support.
Now celebrating its 18th year, the GLL Sport Foundation will distribute a record-breaking £2 million worth of bursaries and in-kind support in 2026, making it the biggest programme of its kind anywhere in the UK.
Athletes from Richmond who are successful in their applications will benefit from free access to local Better leisure centres and sporting facilities across Richmond, alongside access to more than 250 GLL-operated facilities nationwide - supporting both day-to-day training and competition preparation.
This year’s awards coincide with the start of a new 10-year partnership between Richmond Council and GLL, which is bringing significant investment and improvements to Pools on the Park and Teddington Pools and Fitness Centre, helping to ensure that local athletes train in modern, inclusive and high-quality facilities as part of the borough’s wider commitment to health and wellbeing.
By April 2026, over 35,000 athlete awards and almost £20million worth of support will have been distributed to aspiring sportsmen and women since the scheme's first awards in 2008.
The innovative sports programme is provided by GLL, a charitable social enterprise and co-operative, which has for nearly two decades proved a popular and essential support programme for athletes battling the high costs of training, travel and equipment needed for their sporting journey.
All successful applicants will be given access to the 250 sport and leisure facilities across the UK operated by GLL under its “Better” trading brand.
It has always been a core mission of the GSF programme to support young emerging talent on their sporting journey, with the majority of athletes aged under the age of 21 and the largest cohort under 18 years old. Across the programme, 88% of athletes who receive GSF Awards receive no other funding or athlete support, which underlines the importance of the scheme to its athletes - and to GLL’s social values.
With the success of UK's athletes inspiring national pride as well as widening and deepening the positive impact of sport in local communities, the GSF makes a firm claim to be the most successful independent athlete support programme of its kind in the UK.
The GSF has supported many successful athletes, including Tom Daley, Ellie Simmonds, Anthony Joshua and Kimberley Woods. Past and present GSF athletes won 77 medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
With major events such as the Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games in 2026, the programme continues to inspire both elite performance and community engagement.
The GLL Sport Foundation’s Patron is Sally Gunnell, OBE, and partners involved in the programme include; Mary Peters Trust, SportsAid, SportsAid Wales, sponsors from GLL’s supply chain and Switch The Play Foundation.
Sally Gunnell commented: "Young athletes in the UK have never needed support as much as they do today.
"The GSF programme grows each year - with many recipients becoming household names. I'm looking forward to meeting the sports stars of tomorrow who are starting or continuing their sporting journeys with GSF in 2026.”
Commenting on the launch of the GSF Awards 2026 at Gateshead International Stadium, GLL Regional Director Tony Wallace said: “Our GSF Awards provide a lifeline to individual athletes as well as inspiring other young people in local communities.
"We encourage as many talented athletes as possible to look into the scheme and find out how they may benefit from our support.”
Applications open via the website portal on 20 December 2025 and run until 20th February 2026 when the application window closes.
For more information, go to: www.gllsportfoundation.org