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

Azeem Rafiq was slow to repay a £10,000 government grant given to him to provide coaching sessions for asylum seekers that never took place.

Rafiq was told to repay £9,960 to Sport England in 2015 after money given to Barnsley Cricket Club was forwarded to him for running the programme. He repaid most of the money several 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 envisaged by Sport England or the club.

After the shortfall was highlighted by Barnsley, Sport England said they would make Rafiq provide evidence of the expenditure and repay anything not permitted by the terms of the grant.

Rafiq, who was at the center of the Yorkshire racism scandal after revealing his experiences at the hands of his former county, explained he had incurred ‘expenses and development costs’ related to the project. It was based on providing multi-sport coaching to asylum seekers in Barnsley, including the purchase of equipment but as the project never got off the ground, the kit remained unused until 2018. It is understood Rafiq then arranged for it to be sent to Pakistan for use by under-privileged children.

Sport England accepted Rafiq’s explanation and concluded neither party had acted in bad faith, but Barnsley remained unhappy that their community did not benefit. The grant agreement makes clear a maximum of £1,800 could be spent on kit. Sport England confirmed yesterday that £7,800 was repaid, but called the matter ‘contrary to recommended best practice’, for which they held Barnsley culpable.

‘We can confirm that in 2015, £9,960 was paid to Barnsley Cricket Club for the delivery of a cricket coaching programme,’ a spokesperson said. ‘The club then contracted a third party (Rafiq) to deliver the program and paid them the award up front. This is contrary to Sport England’s recommended best practice for recipients of funding.

‘Subsequently, the third-party proactively contacted Sport England to inform us they would not be in a position to deliver the program as they had accepted another role. This communication is usually the responsibility of the recipient of funding. The award was paid back in full via the third party, minus development costs and expenses incurred.’

Barnsley dispute Sport England’s contention that Rafiq raised the issue. Emails seen by Sportsmail show Rafiq first contacted Sport England’s senior grants manager, David Kennedy, on November 11, 2015, 17 days after Barnsley first asked him to return the money, a request he acknowledged that day.

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

‘Seventeen days have elapsed since Barnsley CC made its initial request to have the money returned by you,’ the club wrote. ‘It is the intention of the club to return the money to Sport England as the project cannot be delivered.

‘Unfortunately, despite two requests, the money has not been returned. The club has now decided the only option is to set a deadline of November 13. Should the money not be returned, regrettably the matter has to be reported.’

Rafiq repaid most of the money to Sport England a few days later, but £2,160 had already been spent. Barnsley CC outlined their concerns to Sport England and on November 16 received an email saying: ‘We have received the initial repayment from Mr Rafiq.

‘He will provide evidence of expenditure and we will calculate what is allowed and what is not and pursue him for anything that is not.’