Table Tennis England has been awarded just over £9 million by Sport England to fund key aspects of its work for up to five years.

We will receive an investment of £9,068,000 of government and National Lottery funding. In common with 42 other organisations working with Sport England, we have been awarded this long-term funding because of our commitment to co-deliver change at national and local levels, to help more people enjoy the benefits of playing sport and being active.

Sport England research shows that some groups are typically less active – such as women, people with long-term health conditions, Disabled People, people from ethnically diverse communities and lower socio-economic groups. Right now, the opportunities to get involved in sport and activity – and reap the rewards of being active – depend too much on your background, your gender, your bank balance and your postcode.

Table Tennis England will have a strong focus on tackling the inequalities that exist in the sport, building on some of the work captured in the Level the Table strategy, ensuring the sport is more representative of the national population. A particular focus will be placed on diversifying the participant, volunteer, coach and governance network and supporting the table tennis community to become more confident and knowledgeable to engage priority groups.

Whilst we will look to work across all areas of diversity and inclusion, we will have a really clear focus on women and girls and our time, resource and funding will be prioritised in this area, supporting our commitment to achieve gender parity in the future. We look forward to working with a range of partners, community groups, clubs, leagues and counties that share our goals and ambitions and/or can provide insight, knowledge and experience to support our continued learning.

Adrian Christy, Interim Chief Executive, said: “We would like to thank Sport England for their continued support of table tennis and for acknowledging the contribution table tennis can make in the delivery of Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy.

“Throughout the funding process, Sport England were very clear that system partners needed to demonstrate how they would use investment to effectively tackle the inequalities that exist across the sport and physical activity sector.

“Following the launch of Table Tennis England’s Level the Table strategy in September 2021, we were well placed to show our understanding of the different lived experiences in the sport and demonstrate our commitment to working with the table tennis community, and other partners, to create truly diverse and inclusive environments for participants, coaches, officials and volunteers.

“Our submission to Sport England focused on a number of key strategic objectives but with an absolute commitment to working towards achieving gender parity across all areas of the sport. We look forward to sharing more information on how we will utilise this funding in the coming months.”

More than £193 million is being invested for this first group, with the 43 partners including Table Tennis England receiving funding for up to five years. This new funding model from Sport England provides longer-term financial security as organisations recover and reinvent from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said: “Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy aims to help everyone play sport and get active – no matter who they are, where they live, or what their background. But we know that certain groups are more likely to be inactive and need targeted support and investment.

“We can only innovate and tackle these inequalities effectively with collective action, recognising that this is about long-term change.

“Table Tennis England is one of a huge number of partners we are looking to work with on exactly this over the coming years. They play a foundational role within the sport and physical activity sector and are therefore well-placed to create the conditions for change. They will also act as a resource for other innovative organisations with the same goals as we seek to create a more equal society with everyone benefitting from sport and physical activity.”

You can see a full list of the funding awards from Sport England in phase 1 here. The funding from Sport England helps support our work across participation, coaching, officiating, events, talent, clubs, leagues, safeguarding and operational aspects of the sport.