Veterans’ Foundation and Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 launch Access Unconquered to widen access to adaptive sport

Today, the Veterans’ Foundation announced a new partnership with Invictus Games Birmingham 2027, becoming an Official Games Partner and launching Access Unconquered – a UK-wide programme to widen access to adaptive sport and build a better understanding of the difference it can make to wounded, injured and sick serving personnel and veterans.

Through Access Unconquered, the Veterans’ Foundation and Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 will work together to remove barriers to participation and create more opportunities for people from the Armed Forces community across the UK to experience the physical and mental health benefits of adaptive sport.

As part of the partnership, the Veterans’ Foundation will provide Adaptive Sport Grants of between £1,000 and £15,000 to organisations across the UK. Opening for applications at the beginning of November, the grants will support organisations using adaptive sport to improve physical and mental health and wellbeing, build confidence and strengthen connections – including for people who may never compete at an Invictus Games.

Mark Ormrod MBE, Veterans’ Foundation Ambassador and four-time Invictus Games Team UK competitor, said:

“The Invictus Games changed my life. Sport gave me a focus, pushed me physically and mentally and showed me that losing three limbs didn’t mean losing the things I was capable of achieving.

“But there are thousands of wounded, injured and sick serving personnel and veterans who will never compete at an Invictus Games. They should still have the opportunity to find out what adaptive sport can do for them.

“That’s what’s exciting about Access Unconquered. It takes what we’ve seen through Invictus and opens up those opportunities to the Armed Forces community across the UK – whether that’s trying a sport for the first time, getting active again or finding something that gives them a new focus.”

A former Royal Marines Commando from Plymouth, Mark became the UK’s first triple amputee to survive the Afghanistan conflict and later competed as part of Team UK at four Invictus Games during his own recovery journey.

Alongside the grants, Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 will work with the University of Birmingham to evaluate the impact of the projects and opportunities they create, looking at how greater access to adaptive sport affects the health and wellbeing of wounded, injured and sick serving personnel and veterans.

Together, this will create a new approach to understanding military health and sport, building evidence about what works, for whom and the role adaptive sport can play in improving health and wellbeing.

Access Unconquered will use the opportunity of Birmingham 2027 to widen access now and build knowledge that can improve support for wounded, injured and sick serving personnel and veterans for years to come.

Jane Gurney, CEO of the Veterans’ Foundation, said:

“The people who take part in the Invictus Games are extraordinary, and they represent a much bigger community of serving personnel and veterans who have given so much in service to our country. We’re incredibly proud to be partnering with Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 and excited about what we can achieve together.

“Through Access Unconquered, we want to provide more opportunities for the Armed Forces community across the UK to take part in adaptive sport and experience the real benefits for themselves.

“And we want to understand properly the difference those opportunities make. By working with the University of Birmingham, we can build new knowledge around adaptive sport and military health that has the potential to improve support for the Armed Forces community long after Birmingham 2027.”

Jules Merrison, Director of Impact, Invictus Games Birmingham 2027, said:

“The Games are about much more than the competition. Birmingham 2027 gives us a unique opportunity to use the reach and profile of the Games to create meaningful change for the Armed Forces community.

“Access Unconquered puts that ambition into action – opening up access to adaptive sport while building evidence about the difference it can make. It is a key part of our Impact Strategy, the most ambitious in Invictus Games history, which is focused on inspiring recovery, improving resilience and influencing reconnection.”

Since launching in 2016, the Veterans’ Foundation has awarded £40 million in grants to more than 600 UK charitable organisations, supporting more than 1,500 projects across housing, mental health, education, employment, wellbeing and community services.

This includes funding for charities and community organisations using sport and physical activity to support rehabilitation and wellbeing, as well as club-linked organisations including Salford FC, Bristol Bears, Morecambe FC and Burnley FC.

Founded in 2014 by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, who is Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation, the Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event that uses adaptive sport to support the recovery of wounded, injured and sick serving personnel and veterans. Birmingham 2027 will mark the first time the Games have returned to the UK since the inaugural London Games in 2014.

The partnership with Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 forms part of the Veterans’ Foundation’s wider commitment to the Armed Forces community, including its ambition to raise and distribute a further £160 million over the next decade, taking its total lifetime investment to £200 million.