Applications opened last week for talented young athletes across London and South East England to apply for a series of financial and training grants being offered by the GLL Sport Foundation.

They have until 13th February 2011 to apply for a share of a £400,000 fund, which the Foundation plans to invest in the country's sporting hopefuls over the next year.

Each of the successful applicants will benefit from funding of up to £1,500 to be spent on training, travel and equipment during the next 12 months or training awards that allow free sporting access to 78 sports facilities managed by not-for-profit leisure operator GLL or its partners.

To be eligible for a grant, sportsmen and women must reside or have a training base in a London or South East borough in which GLL operates and must have the long-term potential to succeed at International level. Financial awards may be used to fund the costs of training, competition, coaching and can be used to offset the costs of equipment, travel and accommodation.

Since its launch in 2008 the Foundation has supported nearly 2,000 young UK athletes across 50 Olympic and Paralympic sports with training grants worth well over £1 million. It is hoped that a further 800 young sportsmen and women will be helped during 2011.

The Foundation has also rolled out to cover more areas in South East England. For the first time in 2011, athletes living in Chiltern, South Bucks, South Oxfordshire, West Oxfordshire, Crawley and Mid Sussex districts will also be eligible to apply for funding.

Further information and application forms are available to download from www.gllsportfoundation.org