A new partnership between the Veterans’ Foundation® and Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 is launching Access Unconquered, a UK-wide programme that will help more veterans and serving personnel improve their physical and mental wellbeing through adaptive sport – rebuilding confidence, finding purpose and feeling part of a team again.
Access Unconquered will provide more opportunities for wounded, injured and sick serving personnel and veterans to experience the benefits of adaptive sport, whether they ever compete at an Invictus Games or not.
For Veterans’ Foundation® Ambassador Mark Ormrod MBE, that opportunity was life-changing.
After losing three limbs while serving in Afghanistan, the former Royal Marines Commando found a new focus through the Invictus Games, competing as part of Team UK at four Games during his recovery journey.
“The Invictus Games changed my life,” said Mark. “Sport gave me a focus, pushed me physically and mentally and showed me that losing three limbs didn’t mean losing the things I was capable of achieving.”
At its heart is a simple belief: you shouldn’t have to compete at an Invictus Games to experience the benefits.
Through Adaptive Sport Grants of £1,000 to £15,000, we’ll support organisations helping people try a sport, get active again, build confidence and connect with others.
Applications will open at the beginning of November 2026, with full details on eligibility and how to apply published on our grants page soon.
“There are thousands of wounded, injured and sick serving personnel and veterans who will never compete at an Invictus Games,” Mark continued.
“They should still have the opportunity to find out what adaptive sport can do for them.”
Alongside the grants, Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 will work with the University of Birmingham to evaluate their impact and build a better understanding of the role adaptive sport can play in improving the health and wellbeing of wounded, injured and sick serving personnel and veterans.
What we learn from our partnership could help shape how adaptive sport is used to support veterans and serving personnel long after Birmingham 2027.
Veterans’ Foundation® CEO Jane Gurney believes Access Unconquered can take the benefits seen through the Invictus Games to many more people.
“We’ve all seen what sport can mean to the men and women who compete at the Invictus Games – the confidence, determination and sense of possibility it can unlock,” Jane said.
“What excites me about Access Unconquered is the chance to take that beyond the Games and give many more veterans and serving personnel the opportunity to discover what sport could do for them.”
Jules Merrison, Director of Impact at Invictus Games Birmingham 2027, said: “The Invictus Games are about much more than the competition. Birmingham 2027 gives us a unique opportunity to use the reach and profile of the Invictus Games to create meaningful change for the Armed Forces community.
“Access Unconquered puts that ambition into action – opening up access to adaptive sport while building evidence about the difference it can make.
“It is a key part of our Impact Strategy, the most ambitious in Invictus Games history, which is focused on inspiring recovery, improving resilience and influencing reconnection.”
Access Unconquered builds on the Veterans’ Foundation’s® work supporting veterans, serving personnel and their families across the UK. Since 2016, we have awarded £40 million to more than 600 charitable organisations, supporting more than 1,500 projects.
Thanks to supporters like you, we can help carry the spirit of Invictus into communities across the country, giving more veterans and serving personnel the chance to get active, rediscover camaraderie and build confidence in themselves and their future.
