ASC Grants & Funding: Local Sporting Champions

Touch Football Australia (TFA) would like to share a program presented by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), the Local Sporting Champions grant which is a funding program designed to provide financial assistance for coaches, officials, and competitors aged 12-18 participating in state, national or international championships. It has supported over 90,000 junior athletes since its inception in 2008.

The grant is currently in Round 4 of its program and is accepting applications until Wednesday, 30 April. Successful applicants would receive $500 to $750 towards the cost of attending their related event including (but not limited to) entry fees, transport costs, and accommodation. If a participant attends an event prior to their grant being assessed, the participant will receive the grant as a reimbursement if they are successful in their application.

Among other eligibility criteria as part of the guidelines (please view here), this round of grants is only eligible for TFA-endorsed events held between 1 January 2025 to 31 August 2025, with applicants able to receive a maximum of one grant in the allocation. Notably, those attending a state championship must be living more than 250km from the championships venue and travelling greater than 500km return to participate in the nominated championships.

As such, eligible Touch Football events in this timeframe would include the following:

• 25 to 27 April: Open Trans-Tasman Series
• 15 to 17 May: Asia Pacific Youth Touch Cup
• 30 May to 1 June: The Championships
• 10 to 12 July: QLD Junior State Cup

TFA encourages its Touch Football community and Affiliates to share this information with its relevant staff, managers, and participants to offer the sport’s junior athletes an opportunity to receive assistance with the ongoing costs of participating in these events.

For more information regarding the Local Sporting Champions grant, including FAQs regarding the application process and eligibility, please click here.