Our Partnerships
Sport England as a key partner have provided The ACE Programme Charity £540,000 over the period of 3 years to support the employment of 4 full time staff to be able to work in targeted Black communities to build talent pathways.
In January 2020, Sport England published the 'Sport For All?' report which laid bare the deep rooted inequalities that mean Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are are far less likely to be physically active have been laid bare in a new report.
The England & Wales Cricket Board supported The ACE Programme Charity with a grant to support the expansion of the programme into Birmingham.
Tom Harrison, CEO England and Wales Cricket Board, said: “The ACE Programme has done a fantastic job opening up opportunities for young people from Black communities to play cricket, and I’m really pleased that the ECB can help fund its expansion. I’m excited to see what can be achieved for communities in and around Birmingham.
As we are committed to levelling the playing field, we are working with Raising The Game. A long standing issue within the sport is that many people do not feel the game is for them and the environments are not welcoming to all. Working with Raising The Game, we are committed to ensuring that players hear from people within the sport on their experiences to gain a better understanding of others experiences so we can work to better as a sporting community.
We are now Barmy Army's official charity partner. We have joined forces to create outstanding opportunities and substantial impacts on the youngsters we work with and Barmy Army will support ACE in raising awareness of our core beliefs and visions. Through this partnership, incredible opportunities will be available to talented youngsters to take their cricket to the next level.
The current primary focus will be to raise funds for a scholar to attend the R88T Academy's High Performance Programme in Adelaide, Australia. To attend such an esteemed programme such as this could be a pivotal moment in a players journey.
Supporting the programmes expansion into Bristol, Royal London has partnered with ACE and Gloucestershire Cricket in an our ongoing efforts to level the playing field.
With funding being provided through Royal London, around 30 schools in the Bristol area will benefit from our grassroot sessions with at least 400 young cricketers benefiting from the development and performance opportunities that will be available.
The funding provided will be able to help empower a new generation of players that otherwise may not have been involved.
Surrey County Cricket Club are the founding partner of the ACE Programme. Following the launch in January 2020. The Club set the ambition not only to reconnect with the local black community, but to inspire the wider game following the decline in Black cricketers and the community. Now ACE has launched as an independent charity, SCCC continue to support through infrastructure and resources to support The ACE Programme Charity to become sustainable.
Warwickshire County Cricket Club became the first delivery partner outside of London and will work in partnership to deliver in key target Black communities across Birmingham.
Gloucester Cricket Board became the third delivery partner to deliver the ACE Programme, this time across the city of Bristol. Following on from the great work being on in London and Birmingham with their respective County partners, Gloucestershire have opened their doors to support ACE and the work being done in the Bristol area.
Yorkshire Cricket has joined us to become the fourth partner to roll out an ACE Programme. Setting sights on the city of Sheffield, we aim to target the local population to provide as many opportunities as possible and help the youngsters to flourish.
The Programme has launched alongside our Nottinghamshire partners to service the youngsters of Nottingham. Local youngster will now be offered multiple opportunities to engage in the game of cricket and further their development.
