Paul O’Sullivan CEO of Clann Credo, Ireland’s leading Community Loan Finance provider, welcomes the news and points to “the effort, hard work and energy that local community leaders devote to improving facilities”

Clann Credo also announced that it has committed a further €10m to its Community Sports Loan Fund to help sports clubs who may not be able to borrow on reasonable terms.  

“We congratulate the clubs who have been named as Sports Capital Grant recipients and we can help them to boost the benefits of their grant with Community Loan Finance”, says Paul O’Sullivan, “But we can also assist those clubs who were disappointed not to be allocated a Sports Capital Grant.

“There was a high number of applications for the Sports Capital Programme and a very high standard was required for successful projects. Yet our experience is that even projects with an approved grant can face obstacles in accessing the finance which is often needed to access the grants”. 

Clann Credo has committed another €10m to its Community Sports Loan Fund that will help sports clubs who may not be able to borrow on reasonable terms. This is required for many Sports Capital-funded projects such as upgrades to playing surfaces, training facilities and buildings, as the grant is only released once the associated works or equipment have been paid for.

Many sports clubs encounter difficulties in accessing loans on reasonable terms, and volunteers are often asked by to give personal guarantees or even asked to borrow in their own names. Clann Credo never asks a volunteer to guarantee a club’s loan.

Clann Credo has already loaned over €10 million to more than 100 amateur sporting organisations around the country, enabling more people to enjoy the benefits of sport, providing better facilities, better club houses, better training facilities, better equipment. Some of the sports Clann Credo have funded include: GAA; Judo; Soccer; Watersports; Archery; Baseball; Gymnastics and Community field sports. 

In addition to providing community loan finance to sports clubs, Clann Credo has also provided €27.6 million for community facilities around the country, many of which include sporting facilities. 

As Ireland’s leading Community Loan Finance provider, Clann Credo has loaned over €120 million to over 1,000 projects nationwide at affordable rates and with no personal guarantees. 

“We don’t think that finance should be an obstacle to making the changes needed”, says Paul O’Sullivan “We never ask for personal guarantees from volunteers.  As well as providing Community Loan Finance, Clann Credo also provides decades of expertise in the community and voluntary sector.”