Unsurprisingly, over 80% of Network members say funding and finance issues are amongst their highest priorities. And, within that number, nearly 50% say they are planning significant facilities investment in the near future.
So what do we know:
Sport England is no longer interested in clubs as a strategic priority unless they are delivering ‘activity’ in areas of highest multiple deprivation or to specific underserved groups.
There is no specific Sport England facilities fund and it is now primarily focused on matched crowdfunding upto £15,000.
As a result ECB’s traditional approach of pump-priming Sport England investment in cricket is no longer valid and it has focused its priorities on those deprived and underserved communities too.
Of course, there’s a big emphasis on Women’s and Girls’ cricket which is now the sole focus of the ECB’s County Grants Scheme.
Having been under threat for some time the County Grant Scheme has funding of £5 million a year for the next three years.
The environmental purpose of this fund has now been spun out to a separate Climate Change Fund with £1 million funding recently announced for innovative new projects so long as they can be delivered by January 2027.
Combined, the County Grants and Climate Change Fund are heralded as a sizeable increase in funding on the previous year. But ECB funding of clubs fell from a £14 million peak in 2022-3.
There is still ECB interest free loan-funding available. £1.7 million was loaned to 92 clubs in 2025-6. So an average £18,400 each despite the maximum loan having been increased from £50,000 to £100,000 in the year.
The new ECB Better Building in Cricket Fund (previously Strategic Investment Fund) is £45 million from the Hundred franchise sale to be invested over the next 10 years. It is intended to leverage a further £100 million partnership funding.
Beyond some initial matched funding of government-backed investment in cricket ‘domes’, the actual priorities of this funding are not yet fully established but it is likely the bulk will be used to support County Board facilities strategies – primarily focused on growing cricket capacity in underserved urban areas – provisionally costed, collectively, at over £1 billion.
Local authorities through their Local Plans, housing developer contribution – so called Section 106 or Community Investment Levy – and Levelling Up funds are now the most common source of significant investment in clubs as community and recreational facilities.
Increasingly, clubs needing significant finance will need to build a patchwork of smaller pots from multiple national, regional and local funders – that means systemising their approach to fund finding and application, making themselves attractive funding propositions to funders with different objectives and priorities
Clubs may also have to look, in future, at other funding vehicles, including semi commercial and commercial lenders and private investors, by adopting appropriate ownership structures and building new reliable income streams
The Network’s Breakfast Club is a fortnightly roundtable discussion on Thursdays, 9.30-10.30am focused on :
- funding sources
- improving your chances
- latest ideas on new income streams
- cost savings and boosting revenues
- catch-up on latest club successes
- grappling with challenges
- potential solutions
Discussions through Autumn 2026 will progress a narrower agenda, honed from over 18 months activity, supported by invited expert ‘guest’ contributors:
- ECB Better Building Fund; who can apply and how?
- ECB Climate Change Fund: reducing water, waste and energy costs
- CASC benefits and potential scheme changes
- Legacies as a primary source of club funding
- Using better quality financial information
- Using your facilities and club competences more profitably
- Incorporation, Community Interest Company or charitable status?
- Systemising your grant funding application process
More details on how to join in can be found through the Breakfast Club pages on the Members’ Portal.