London mayor Sadiq Khan has announced £1.1m funding for sports groups as part of a drive to stop young people getting involved in crime and violence.
Bids are open for the Impact Partnership Fund which will invest in projects to create employment and training opportunities.
The steering group for the project will bring together London community sports experts to help identify causes, share best practice, and propose solutions to serious youth violence.
Earlier this month Mayor Khan announced £360,000 of investment from the Young Londoners Fund for 43 projects taking place during the summer holidays and providing positive opportunities for 3,500 young people at risk of getting involved in crime.
He said: ‘I have seen first-hand the unique power of sport to engage young people and help them to turn their lives around.
'The organisations that I have brought together today are already making a huge difference to the lives of thousands of young people in our city, which is why I am providing a further £1.1m of funding to help even more sports projects provide positive, meaningful activities to help young people make the right choices in life.’
Mayor Khan’s announcement comes as a new report from the Home Affairs Committee shows that the number of under-18s admitted to hospital with knife injuries rose by a third between 2013-14 and 2017-18.
