Nearly a quarter know a local team or club struggling due to financial pressure

CompareNI.com is celebrating 15 years helping families save money in Northern Ireland by launching a new initiative to support local clubs.

The Fish4Funds community initiative will aim to support five local clubs or teams with a £1000 bursary each.

The team at CompareNI conducted a survey which revealed 40% of families here in Northern Ireland are part of a local club or team, with 90% saying they are important for the local community.

However, due to current financial struggles, nearly a quarter of those surveyed, 23%, said they know a club or team impacted or forced to close due to financial pressure – with 75% agreeing these important community initiatives are not getting enough funding and 63% saying they know a local club or team who needs the support. 

Research on local community leaders supports the survey findings, showing that the majority of leaders of community sports groups across Northern Ireland are concerned about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on their organisation, with 82% stating they are concerned on this issue for their young people.*

With this in mind, CompareNI mascot and TV favourite Fisherman Rod is offering a cash bursary of £1000 to support the development of five teams or clubs over the course of the year from all over Northern Ireland – all sports and hobbies of any age welcome to enter.

Fisherman Rod aims to deliver the cash himself, giving him a chance to meet the communities he is supporting and try his hand at a range of sports and hobbies for all ages.

Commenting on the project, Jaclyn Dunlop, Marketing Manager at CompareNI.com said: “It’s quite a milestone to be celebrating 15 years of helping families across Northern Ireland find savings and we’re really excited to launch the new Fish4Funds project to help support local community initiatives.

“The cost-of-living crisis has put a strain on all aspects of life and these groups are no exception. It’s never been more important to invest in such a vital part of our communities here in Northern Ireland. These clubs and groups give people somewhere to socialise, learn new skills and support each other.

“With this in mind, our mascot, Fisherman Rod is keen to help by offering five clubs a bursary of £1000 each over the course of the year. I would encourage all sports, clubs and hobbies to apply, no matter what age group, it could be a toddlers dance club, local football clubs or a gardening club for over 60’s – simply fill out the short online form to tell Rod who you are and why you could benefit from the funding.”

To enter click here, where you can fill in a quick form, simply tell Rod who your club or team are and why they’d benefit from £1000 support.

References:

*https://sported.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Pulse-March-2022-Northern-Ireland.pdf

**https://datavis.nisra.gov.uk/communities/experience-of-sport-by-young-people-in-northern-ireland-2022.html#Main_Stories

*CompareNI.com’s findings are based on a randomised survey of over 600 respondents across Northern Ireland in June 2024, which represents a margin of error of approximately 5% at a 95% confidence level.