Azeem Rafiq slow to repay £10k grant from Sport England for coaching sessions that never took place

Azeem Rafiq was reluctant to repay a £10,000 government grant awarded to him to offer coaching sessions for asylum seekers which never took place.

Rafiq was told to repay £9,960 to Sport England in 2015 after money was passed to Barnsley Cricket Club to run the scheme. He repaid most of the money a few weeks after a request from Barnsley, where the former Yorkshire spinner played after leaving Headingley, but £2,160 had been spent in a way not foreseen by Sport England or the club .

After Barnsley highlighted the shortfall, Sport England said they would get Rafiq to provide evidence of expenses and pay back anything not allowed under the terms of the grant.

Rafiq, who has been at the center of the Yorkshire racism scandal after revealing his experience with his former county, said he had incurred “expenses and development costs” related to the project. It was based around providing multisport coaching to asylum seekers in Barnsley, including the purchase of equipment, but as the project never got off the ground the kit sat unused until 2018. It is believed that Rafiq then arranged for it to be sent to Pakistan for use by underprivileged children.

Sport England accepted Rafiq’s explanation and concluded that neither party had acted in bad faith, but Barnsley remains unhappy that their community has not benefited. The grant agreement makes it clear that a maximum of £1,800 can be spent on kits. Sport England yesterday confirmed £7,800 had been returned but described the matter as “contrary to recommended best practice” for which they blamed Barnsley.

“We can confirm that in 2015 £9,960 was paid to Barnsley Cricket Club for the provision of a cricket coaching scheme,” said a spokesman. “The club then hired a third party (Rafiq) to deliver the program and paid them the award upfront. This is at odds with the best practices for grant recipients recommended by Sport England.

“Subsequently, the third-party provider proactively contacted Sport England to let us know that they were unable to deliver the program as they had taken on a different role. This communication is usually the responsibility of the grantee. The award was repaid in full via the third party, less development costs and expenses incurred.’

Barnsley denies Sport England’s claim that Rafiq raised the issue. Emails seen by sports mail Show Rafiq first contacted Sport England senior grants manager David Kennedy on 11 November 2015, 17 days after Barnsley first asked him to return the money, a request he confirmed that day.

However, subsequent emails checking when the money would be returned went unanswered. On November 10, Barnsley sent Rafiq a final demand that included a threat to report the matter if the money was not returned.

“Seventeen days have passed since Barnsley CC made its first request for you to return the money,” the club wrote. “It is the club’s intention to return the money to Sport England as the project cannot go ahead.

“Unfortunately, the money was not refunded despite two requests. The club has now decided that there can only be a deadline of November 13th. Unfortunately, if the money is not returned, the matter must be reported.’

Rafiq paid most of the money back to Sport England a few days later but £2,160 had already been spent. Barnsley CC shared their concerns with Sport England and received an email on November 16 which read: ‘We have received the first repayment from Mr Rafiq.

“He’ll prove the expenses and we’ll calculate what’s legal and what’s not and go after him for anything that’s not legal.”