Bradford City Football Club (BCFC) and Rotherham United Football Club (RUFC) have both received grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) towards schemes exploring their sporting history.

The Bantams Community Programme (BCP) has been awarded £49,400 to fund the new 18-month bantamspast initiative, an oral history project designed to preserve the memories of supporters who have followed BCFC over the past fifty years. Around 500 volunteers will be recruited to conduct interviews, make radio broadcasts or provide guided tours as part of the scheme, which will then see a permanent exhibition stage set up in the bantamspast museum.

Meanwhile, Rotherham United Community Sports Trust (RUCST) has been handed £50,000 towards the 18-month From Coal to Goal programme, which will explore the history of RUFC during the 1940s and 1950s and the club's links with local mining communities. Fiona Spiers, head of the HLF for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: "The grants will enable people of all ages to engage with a topic and pastime which has been close to their hearts for generations.

"Much has changed in the world of football since the 1940s and we look forward to the results of these exciting history projects which will bring the legacy of these famous clubs, their players and supporters, and their role and impact on the communities around them to life." In addition to the two football clubs, Doncaster Rugby League Heritage Project has also received a £37,200 grant from the HLF to help finance a year-long scheme documenting the history of Doncaster Rugby League Football Club.