Fears have been allayed over sports clubs' chances of receiving grants up to a maximum of £500 from Bradford Council.

Red flags were raised among some potential applicants when they saw the sentence in the Telegraph & Argus of January 8: "We are actively seeking applications from all voluntary sports clubs, particularly those that target ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups, to apply for a grant to help them attract more youngsters into sport".

The quote came from Steve Warner, head of sport and leisure at Bradford Council, and the worry was that some grass-roots clubs might miss out because they were too mainstream' or did not tick politically-correct social boxes.

However, while not wishing to speak on behalf of Mr Warner, Grant Soames - Bradford Council's community sports officer for cricket - eased concerns at the Bradford North/South Cricket Development Group meeting at Undercliffe Cricket Club.

He said: "I haven't spoken to Steve about it, and I probably won't, but grants are open to all clubs and if they can make a strong bid and provide equal opportunities then they will have a strong case for a grant.

"All grants will be considered fairly and it has nothing to do with an organisation's postcode."

Grant application forms for sports clubs are available from Eccleshill Pool, but there is little doubt that if clubs can help themselves by raising part of the funding then their bids will be looked upon more favourably.

Steve Wilson (Bolton Villas), who chaired the development group's meeting, added that other avenues for council grants were from Area Community Chests and Neighbourhood Renewal Funds.

Cricket clubs in the Bradford North and Bradford South areas are also being asked to state if they have any women or girl players.

It was pointed out that clubs often cannot find enough players to form a team but by pooling their resources they could get a girls or a women's team to represent Bradford South and/or Bradford North and thereby play matches.