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10 September 2026  3 min read

Access Sport celebrates new basketball court and £2.4m partnership with London Marathon Foundation

The court transformation is the result of a year-long project led by Access Sport in partnership with the London Marathon Foundation, Brent Council and Basketball England.

Its design was shaped by community consultations and aims to empower local disadvantaged and disabled young people through basketball.

The next phase of the project will see the creation of a new inclusive community club: Gibbons Rec Basketball Club. The club will provide regular sessions for local young people, with training and volunteer opportunities available to residents who want to support the initiative long-term.

The Gibbons Recreation Ground renovation is Access Sport’s third basketball court upgrade in London, and work is already underway to improve more community sport facilities across the country.

Basketball England’s Outdoor Project Lead Toby Wilkinson said: 

"Many congratulations to Access Sport for another fine court refurbishment and adding to their portfolio of vibrant and inclusive outdoor courts. We were delighted to make a financial contribution to the project. Gibbon's Recreation Ground is now home to a safe and accessible basketball facility for young people in Brent, that also creates training and volunteering opportunities for the local community."

The London Marathon Foundation has also extended its partnership with Access Sport.

Funding from the London Marathon Foundation supported the Gibbons Rec basketball court renovation, as part of an existing partnership. 

Since 2018, the London Marathon Foundation has committed more than £2.3 million to Access Sport, helping 19,000 underserved young people access inclusive community sport, training over 255 cycling and basketball coaches, and delivering 12 new or improved cycling and basketball facilities in Sheffield, Greater Manchester, Bristol and London.

By combining forces, Access Sport and the London Marathon Foundation have seen tangible, positive change in underserved communities across the country, but both charities recognise more still needs to be done to level the playing field. 

To address this, the London Marathon Foundation has made an additional funding commitment to Access Sport, of up to £2.4 million over the next five years. This renewed partnership will enable Access Sport to support thousands more disadvantaged children and young people to participate in inclusive basketball and cycling activities in London and across the UK.

By 2031, this partnership, will:

• Directly engage over 22,500 children and young people through inclusive cycling and basketball
• Upskill 1,350 coaches, volunteers and young leaders
• Support 300 cycling clubs and 40 basketball clubs
• Enhance and refurbish four cycling tracks and four basketball courts in London, Manchester and Scotland.

Helen Rowbotham, the CEO of Access Sport said:

"Once again, we would like to say a huge thank you to the London Marathon Foundation for their continued support. This renewed partnership is a fantastic milestone for Access Sport. Over the next five years we will scale up our cycling and basketball programmes to positively impact more young people than ever before, create sustainable change in communities, and drive forward our efforts to make our sport system more equitable."

Access Sport

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