Fibrus launches annual £50k fund for local sports clubs

Northern Ireland’s leading homegrown broadband provider, Fibrus has officially launched a fund of £50,000 available to local grassroots sports clubs across Northern Ireland and Cumbria.

Now in its fourth year, the Play it Forward Fund provides up to £1,000 per club to help teams improve facilities and purchase essential equipment.

With local communities at the heart of the business, the Fibrus Play it Forward Fund is more than just a sports initiative. It is designed to help young people in local communities lead more active, healthier lives while encouraging that all important time away from screens, where meaningful connections are made through sport.

Since launching in 2023, the Play it Forward Fund has contributed over £150,000 to 152 sports clubs in NI and Cumbria. Celebrating a wide range of sports from football and wheelchair basketball to horse riding and swimming, 30 clubs in Northern Ireland were awarded funding last year, bringing Fibrus’ sports investment in the region to over £90,000 across 92 clubs since it began.

A recipient in 2025, Ski Ability NI, is a Craigavon-based charity that provides ski instruction at all levels for children with additional needs. Ski Ability NI aims to advance accessibility to the amateur sport in Northern Ireland, training a talented cohort of young athletes that have previously competed at both national and international levels.

Directly benefitting 50 members aged 5-18 years old, the £1,000 grant it received enabled the club to extend its hire of the dry ski slope at Craigavon, opening skiing opportunities to more young people than ever before.

Linda McMillan, Chief People Officer at Fibrus, said: “At Fibrus, we are proud to support the communities we serve, and the Play it Forward Fund is one of the ways we can make a meaningful contribution. Grassroots sports clubs play such an important role in helping children and young people stay active, build confidence and feel connected to the world around them.

“Each year, we are encouraged by the growing interest in the fund and by the impact it continues to have for clubs across Northern Ireland and Cumbria. We understand the pressures many community clubs face, and we are pleased to be able to offer practical support that helps them continue providing valuable opportunities for young people. We would encourage any eligible clubs to apply.”

Philip Shields, Secretary of Ski Ability said: “We firmly believe that sport should be available to all within our community and that everyone deserves the same opportunity to try new things and meet new people. The funding from Fibrus we received last year enabled us to welcome even more young people into our club and open up the world of skiing to a host of different abilities. Without this support, we wouldn’t be able to reach as many people and give children the opportunity to ski in NI. I would strongly encourage any club thinking of applying to the Fibrus Play it Forward Fund to do so, it made a huge difference for us.”

Applications for the 2026 Fibrus Play it Forward Fund are now open and will close on Friday 12 June at midday. To learn more about the full eligibility criteria and how to apply, please visit: https://fibrus.com/play-it-forward-fund/