Leisure and cultural charitable social enterprise GLL has welcomed Kyocera Annodata as one of its sponsors of the GLL Sport Foundation Awards 2024/25.

The UK’s largest independent athlete support programme, now in its 16th year, has provided an essential boost by providing 28,000 young athletes awards as recipients train and compete in national and international competition – including Olympics, Paralympics and Commonwealth Games.

Previous GSF Award holders and legacy ambassadors include Tom Daley, Anthony Joshua and Ellie Simmonds. Current ambassadors include Daryll Neita, Joe Clarke and Tully Kearney.

Since 2008, £15m of support – covering 117 different sports – has been given, including cash awards, use of gym facilities and access to professional services including physiotherapy, alongside athlete wellbeing support provided by Switch the Play Foundation.

In 2024/25, over £1m will be awarded to 2,200 athletes across 50 UK partnerships operated by GLL, some competing at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

GLL’s research shows that many talented athletes struggle to realise their dreams of sporting glory due to rising costs of equipment, training, physiotherapy, travel and nutrition. For them, a GSF Award can be the lifeline to staying in training and meeting their potential.

The majority of GSF athletes are under 21 and 87% receive no other form of funding.

GSF Chair and GLL CEO Peter Bundey said: “GLL is a unique organisation that over the past 30 years has expanded its public service offer, bringing measurable benefit to local communities.

“Our GLL Sport Foundation is a key part of our remit to widen and deepen our social impact by offering unique opportunities to talented young athletes and build a legacy through sport.

“All of this is only possible with the close relationships with our partners, clients and suppliers, and I want to take this opportunity to thank Kyocera Annodata for their valued contribution as a sponsor in the 2024/25 Awards.

“We look forward to sharing the success of our talented athletes with them in the year ahead.”

Rod Tonna-Barthet, Chief Executive Officer at Kyocera Annodata and partner to GLL, said: “We are very proud of our association with GLL and our mutual interest in grass roots sports. We began our sponsorship with the GLL Sports Foundation back in 2015, and are delighted to have renewed for another year. One thing that has remained a constant since we started sponsoring is our shared vision for committing to grassroots investment and ensuring the needs of local athletes and communities are always met. As a result, the programme has grown considerably in the last few years, helping athletes who have struggled to chase their sporting dreams due to lack of funding.

“I would like to extend our best wishes to the young athletes who are part of the GSF Awards Programme this year and wish them the very best of luck with their training and in their future competitions”, concluded Tonna-Barthet.