Guidance

Find out about multi-sports clubs and CASCs

Updated 1 November 2024

1. Introduction

1.1 Clubs that offer more than one sport can still become Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) as long as all of the sports are all eligible sports. For example, a club offering Ju-Jitsu, Karate and Kickboxing would not be eligible because Kickboxing is not an eligible sport.

1.2 Multi-sports clubs will still need to meet the all of the other conditions for CASC status. In particular multi-sports clubs that wish to apply for CASC status will need to ensure that they structure themselves in a CASC compliant way.

1.3 Multi-sports clubs are usually made up of:

• one club offering several eligible sports
• one club made up of different sporting sections
• a group of affiliated clubs

2. One club offering several eligible sports

2.1 This is the most straightforward structure for a multi-sports club. There would usually be one company or unincorporated association with one governing document. The club will be run by one management committee who would be responsible for admitting and removing members, organising the sporting activity and managing the property and financial affairs of the club. The club will produce one set of financial accounts. As long as this type of club meets the other conditions of the scheme it would qualify for CASC status.

2.2 If one club offers more than one eligible sport it will need to offer all participating members the same rights. For example, a club offering tennis and squash could not restrict member voting rights to only those who play tennis.

2.3 This type of club may offer individual sporting memberships and also a membership package for all eligible sports. For example, a club offering tennis and squash may offer a tennis membership, a squash membership and a dual membership for tennis and squash. When considering the membership fees and costs of membership the club should look at the most expensive single sport memberships. CASCs are not required to meet the membership requirements on memberships that are for more than one sport. For example:

A single integrated multi-sport club offers 3 sports - football, rugby and cricket. The membership fee for each sport is £120 a year or you can have a membership for all three sports for £200. The cricket club has the most additional costs on top of the membership fee, making it the most expensive sport.

This club needs to check whether the costs of membership for cricket are more than £520 a year.

In this case the costs of membership for cricket are £190 a year so no provision is needed for those on low or modest incomes.

3. One club made up of different sporting sections

3.1 Some clubs offering more than one sport choose to set up sporting sections. For HMRC to register this type of club it needs to make sure that this is really one club and not a group of clubs using the same facilities.

3.2 If there’s only one club made up of sporting sections then there should only be one governing document and only one company or unincorporated association registered with us. Each sporting section may have their own management committee, but all members will be a member of the whole club and will be able to vote in member’s meetings.

3.3 To accept that this type of club is suitable for CASC status we would need to see evidence that:

• you have a single set of financial accounts for the club - if the sporting sections keep their own accounts they should be consolidated at the end of the year
• this is one club and that there is a central management committee that has overall responsibility for each section
• if the club was closed (or wound up) the assets of one section would be used to cover the debt of another section
• the details of bank statements are available for all accounts held by the club if you have different bank accounts for each section

3.4 If your club is structured this way you must still meet the other conditions of the CASC scheme. It’s important you look at the club as a single entity when deciding if you are eligible. For example, the income of each section will be added together for the purpose of the income condition.

3.5To meet the 50% participating members requirement you must add together the numbers of participating and non-participating members across all sporting sections to check whether the 50% participation threshold has been met. The club will only have one £10,000 a year limit for paying players, so the sections will need to agree how this limit should be allocated across the different eligible sports.

3.6 As with the previous structure, the club should look at the most expensive sport for the purposes of the membership fee and costs associated with membership tests. If the most expensive single sport membership fee is more than £1,612 a year then the club would not be eligible for CASC status.

3.7 If the most expensive single sport had a cost associated with membership that was more than £520 a year, the club would need to make provisions for those who cannot afford to pay more than £520 a year.

4. A group of affiliated clubs

4.1 Sometimes a group of separate but affiliated clubs will work together and may even share facilities.

4.2 Affiliated clubs can each apply for CASC status, or they can choose not to. If one club is successful in applying for CASC status this does not mean that the other clubs are CASCs and they will not be entitled to any relief unless they are successful in making their own application.

4.3 Each club within this structure will have to decide whether it wishes to apply for CASC status. Applications will be judged independently on the criteria of the CASC scheme.

4.4 Sometimes a group of affiliated clubs will include a club that owns and operates the sporting facilities that are used by the other sports clubs. For example, a club running a sports centre that allows use to other affiliated sports clubs. If the main purpose of this club is to provide facilities alone, it will not be eligible for CASC status. These clubs are known as ‘mother clubs’.

5. Mother club with individual members

5.1 This type of club may own and manage the facilities, allowing affiliated clubs to use its facilities. This type of club may be part of a group of affiliated clubs.

5.2 Often each individual member of an affiliated club is required to become a member of the mother club. They may for example, be automatically given membership of the mother club when admitted as a member of an affiliated club.

5.3 The mother club may also admit them as members and then they apply or are allocated to the different affiliated clubs, depending on what sport they wish to play. There may be a subscription to join the mother club or this may be free with subscriptions paid to the affiliated clubs for membership of these.

5.4 To be accepted as a CASC the mother club must itself meet the statutory criteria, regardless of the activities of any affiliated clubs. This means that the mother club must itself actively promote participation in eligible sports and cannot merely be a passive provider of facilities.

5.5 Activities that a mother club might engage in to promote participation in sports might include:

• actively engaging with the local community and the sport’s governing bodies to widen participation
• publicising its facilities and the sports that it caters for and taking positive action to attract new participants to the club
• organising festivals, tournaments and coaching courses

5.4 A decision will be made for each individual case on whether a club’s activities are sufficient to amount to promoting participation. This type of club may struggle to meet the 50% participation threshold.

6. Mother club with affiliated member clubs

6.1 Where a mother club has no individual membership, but has affiliated clubs as its members (that is it is a club of clubs), we will not accept that the mother club as a CASC. However the affiliated clubs will be able to apply for CASC status.

6.2 This structure does not comply with the CASC requirements as membership is only open to organisations (the affiliated clubs) and not to individuals. It is therefore not open to the whole community.