WHILE many of Team GB’s athletes will be eyeing up lucrative sponsorships following Paris heroics, plenty will return to sleepless nights over their finances.
That’s why a Meriden-based social enterprise, Fair for You, that helps struggling households to kit out their homes is not taking the matter lying down – and is offering beds to deserving athletes whose sporting dedication has caused financial worries.
Many hard-working, top-class athletes struggle to make ends meet – BBC data earlier this year showed that four in 10 elite British sportswomen earn less than £10,000 a year, while diver Jack Laugher confessed he was supplementing his income on OnlyFans, and plenty more athletes over the years have talked about how tight their budgets can be.
The precarious nature of funding means that some may have spent their Eurostar ride home fretting about their financial future, rather than treasuring fond memories of representing their country.
And with many Olympians finding the eco-friendly cardboard beds in the Olympic Village less than comfortable, charity-owned lender Fair for You has decided that Team GB’s hardworking sportsmen and women deserve to come back to a decent night’s sleep.
Fair for You, which helps hard-pressed households to buy essential items, is offering a free bed and mattress from its partner Dorset Homes’ new Furniture Essentials range, to Team GB Olympians (or UK-based members of the Refugee Olympic team) who gave it their all but came home without a medal, and now face significant financial uncertainty.
Founded in 2015, Fair for You exists to ensure financially-excluded UK households can buy essential items – including beds, as well as washing machines, fridges and more – at a fair price, avoid hardship, and build their financial resilience.
Owned by the Fair Credit Charity, it hopes to divert people away from harmful forms of credit, including loan sharks.
Simon Dukes, chief executive of Fair for You, says: “We often associate top-level sports with glitz, glamour and big prize money. The reality is that many athletes, in particular in the sports that get less coverage, are earning very little, and have to make their money work as hard as they do in the gym.
“We know that beyond the household names who are coming home with medals, there are many more amazing, hardworking Team GB Olympians who might be at risk of being forgotten.
“As a social enterprise serving communities who often feel forgotten or don’t get the support they need, we want to do our bit to recognise that dedication, and thank them for representing their country with pride.”
