Grassroots rugby league has beneftted from grants worth £271,570 (US$390,849, €343,182) over the past 12 months courtesy of the Big Lottery Fund.

With support from the Rugby Football League (RFL), 28 grassroots organisations have applied for the fund, with money put towards the qualifying of coaches, new equipment and first aid training.

The funding – which comes from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards For All scheme – is due to increase for the sport in 2016, with £50,000 (US$71,961, €63,184) of applications currently being assessed and another £40,000 (US$57,568, €50,540) of projects currently under development by Community Rugby League Clubs.

Russell Martin, the RFL’s Community Funding and Grants Support Officer, said it was a “fantastic achievement for the game”.

The RFL Community team supports around four clubs per month to complete Awards For All applications, assessing whether they meet eligibility criteria.

“Each of the organisations came to us with a plan to grow and we have helped them to refine it and make it deliverable,” said Martin. “Some of the projects will soon be nearing completion and we are looking forward to seeing the difference that the grants have made.”