Go! London is a five-year partnership between the Mayor of London, the London Marathon Foundation, Sport England, London Marathon Events, and London Sport
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has unveiled a new £1.4 million investment aimed at transforming the lives of young Londoners through sport as part of the Go! London initiative, the capital’s largest-ever community sports fund. The announcement was made during Khan’s visit to the Atlas Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa, a charity that uses rugby and mentoring to support children in vulnerable communities worldwide, including London.
Go! London is a five-year partnership between the Mayor of London, the London Marathon Foundation, Sport England, London Marathon Events, and London Sport. The initiative supports community sports and physical activity initiatives and invests directly in the next generation of leaders in the sector by backing young social entrepreneurs. Since its launch in 2023, Go! London has invested over £8 million in more than 200 grassroots sports and physical activity organisations, with total investment expected to exceed £22 million over the partnership. By the end of next year, the initiative will have provided over 40,000 underserved young Londoners with opportunities to engage in activities such as rugby, cycling, skating, and yoga.
The Atlas Foundation, founded by former England Rugby World Cup winner Jason Leonard OBE, operates in 21 countries, providing access to education, nutrition, clean water, and safe spaces for play and development. Its mission is to improve young people’s lives through the core values of rugby: teamwork, respect, discipline, and enjoyment. The South African branch of the Atlas Foundation, in collaboration with partners Matt Ratana Foundation and Star*Scheme, delivers the Tackle London programme, which supports young people through sport and mentoring.
The Matt Ratana Rugby Foundation was established in response to the tragic death of police sergeant and rugby coach Matt Ratana in September 2020. The foundation supports the design and delivery of school and community rugby initiatives both nationally and internationally. Tackle London, funded through the Mayor’s £34 million mentoring programme, has supported 100,000 disadvantaged young Londoners, including those not in mainstream education, those living in poverty or in the care system, and those impacted by exploitation or domestic violence.
Tackle London has received £250,000 of this funding and has so far reached over 1,000 young people through specially trained rugby coaches and clubs, working alongside schools to develop positive, supportive relationships for young people in communities facing increased levels of poverty, neglect, and disadvantage.
This initiative works in tandem with the Mayor’s record investment in prevention through his Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), which delivers 400,000 diversionary activities and positive opportunities for young people. This includes a £1 million investment this year in sports activities for young people. The VRU is also delivering a programme of after-school activities, including funding for London Irish to provide safe spaces and activities for at-risk girls and young women in five London boroughs.
During his visit to South Africa, Mayor Khan participated in a special rugby session with over 40 young people, engaging with staff and volunteers to gain further insight into how the Atlas Foundation uses sport and education to create safe, inclusive spaces. Khan’s visit to Africa is part of a trade mission to promote London as a place to invest and do business, making him the first London Mayor to tour the continent. He has attended high-level business and cultural events in Lagos, Nigeria, and Accra, Ghana, and commemorated Mandela Day in Johannesburg.
Khan said, “I am delighted to announce the next round of funding applications for our successful Go! London initiative, the capital’s biggest-ever community sports fund that has already supported more than 180 grassroots sports and physical activity organisations. I know the huge difference that sport can make to physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, and this new £1.4 million investment will help transform young Londoners’ lives.”
Transforming the lives of Londoners through sport is one of Mayor Khan’s top priorities, having invested £15 million between 2018 and 2024. He has championed community sport through his Sport Unites programme, which uses the power of sport to encourage physical activity, build pride, reduce barriers to access, improve mental health and wellbeing, create job opportunities, and support young people at risk of youth violence.
The Mayor has also supported London EmpowerHER, a one-year pilot from April 2024 to March 2025, in two boroughs: Brent and Redbridge, in collaboration with England Rugby. The programme supported young women and girls from underserved communities to take part in non-contact rugby, providing physical activity and transferable leadership skills. The programme has supported over 2,000 women and girls, 90% of whom had previously not taken part in rugby activities, and the project now runs for a second year until March 2026 in the borough of Brent.
