Monday, 16 December 2024
UK Sport has revealed its greatest investment to date with £330m in Government and National Lottery funding set to benefit more than 50 sports as they embark on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games cycle. This investment bolsters UK Sport’s mission to create the greatest decade of extraordinary sporting moments; reaching, inspiring and uniting the nation.
The announcement comes following over a year of planning, together with sports, to understand their performance strategies and ambitions for LA and any specific financial needs due to anticipated changes ahead in the sport. It will see a record number of sports receive investment towards winning well in LA and beyond, continuing UK Sport’s commitment to supporting long term success and a broader range of champions and medallists.
Olympic and Paralympic sport occupies a special place in the hearts of the British public with more than 80% saying they were proud of Team GB and ParalmypicsGB’s performances at Paris 2024*. The investments announced today will enable the UK’s Olympic and Paralympic sports and athletes to continue to deliver inspiration and impact for people and communities right across the UK.
Our LA cycle funding, which covers European Championships in 2025 and 2027 plus the World Championships in Aachen in 2026, our first qualificaiton opportunity for LA, totals:
| Paris Funding Cycle 2021 - 2024 | LA Funding Cycle 2025 - 2029 | % increase | |
| Equestrian | £11, 746,626 | £12,075,000 | 2.8 |
| Para Equestrain | £3,303,243 | £3,625,000 | 9.7 |
Helen Nicholls, British Equestrian Performance Director commented;
"We are extremely grateful to UK Sport for their recognition and belief in our ability to deliver medals and meaningful results on the global stage. Thanks also to the Government in providing financial stability and security with this enhanced commitment to elite level sport - being able to plan long term is a key in sporting success and gives a huge performance advantage.
"The LA cycle will certainly be a financial challenge across our four Olympic and Paralympic disciplines, but we will work hard and smart to support our athletes to develop and grow, as well as inspiring the next generation and new supporters with their achievements and stories, in and out of the saddle."
The Olympic sports funded are:
World Class Programmes (18)
Archery, Aquatics (All), Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Canoeing, Cycling (All), Equestrian, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Taekwondo, Triathlon and Weightlifting.
Development sports (9)
Basketball, Fencing, Handball, Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, Surfing, Table Tennis, Volleyball and Wrestling.
The Paralympic sports funded are:
World Class Programmes (18)
Boccia, Para Archery, Para Athletics, Para Badminton, Para Canoe, Para Cycling, Para Equestrian, Para Rowing, Para Swimming, Para Table Tennis, Para Taekwondo, Para Triathlon, Powerlifting, Shooting Para Sport, VI Judo, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Fencing and Wheelchair Rugby.
Development sports (1)
Goalball.
New Olympic and Paralympic sports
Five sports set to return or debut at the Olympics and Paralympics in 2028 are collectively set to benefit from £3m in total from UK Sport to support their ambitions in LA. They are Baseball/Softball, Flag Football, Lacrosse, Para Climbing and Squash.
3 x 3 Basketball pilot in partnership with Sport England
As part of an innovative pilot project in partnership with Sport England, an additional £1.55m has been allocated to Basketball to pursue the 3x3 discipline, which sits outside the scope of the LA performance investment awards.
The funding package announced today will enable the UK to remain a world leading Olympic and Paralympic nation. The investments are designed to support sports to be ambitious, innovative and proactive in their approach to winning well in the next cycle and beyond, and critical to supporting Team GB and ParalympicsGB to continue to aspire to a top five medal table position in LA and Brisbane.
This funding package has also been designed to support both sports and athletes in the current financial climate. Sports, as part of their investment for LA, have all been provided with funding aimed at addressing some of the inflationary pressures, with an extra uplift for Paralympic sports in recognition of the unique requirements in the Paralympic environment.
Dr Kate Baker, Director of Performance and People, UK Sport, said: “Following the spectacular performances of Team GB and ParalympicsGB in Paris this summer, it’s so important for us to be able to keep the momentum going as we head into the LA cycle. This is our greatest investment to date, with more sports set to embark on an Olympic and Paralympic campaign with us than ever before.
“I’m excited to work with the new sports receiving investment from us for the first time (Flag Football, Lacrosse, Para Climbing and Squash), as well as Baseball/Softball who received National Squads funding in the Paris cycle, and warmly welcome them to our Olympic and Paralympic community.
“For the first time ever, we worked in a fully joined up way with our Home Nations partners on our joint investment into both the UK’s talent and performance pathways. Working in a much more collaborative and efficient manner is a performance advantage connecting our sport system from grassroots to podium across all parts of the UK.
“With every Games cycle comes new sports and athletes with new stories to tell and inspiration to share. With our investment supporting more breadth than ever before, as well as the entertainment, drama and spectacle we’ll no doubt experience from a Games taking place in LA, I can’t wait to see what our athletes can achieve in four years’ time.”
Sally Munday, CEO of UK Sport, said:
“It’s thanks to the unwavering support of the UK Government and our wonderful National Lottery players that we are able to announce this historic investment today, towards continuing to create the greatest decade of extraordinary sporting moments.
“The past few years have been tough for our sports with the delayed Tokyo Games and shortened Paris cycle, and we know finances remain under extreme pressure. We have looked to relieve some of this pressure through our investment today, however we know we must continue to innovate and collaborate, together, to grow a thriving sporting system that’s fit for the future.
“Huge credit to the leaders in our sports for all the hard work they’ve done, with us, over the past 18 months to put us in this brilliant position to be able to say we are ready to win well in the LA cycle and beyond.”
Stephanie Peacock, Minister of Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth said:
“As we saw this summer, the whole country comes together to support our Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes and to celebrate their success. I am pleased that our record £9 million a year increase in funding for UK Sport means that more athletes will have the opportunity to go for gold in Los Angeles in 2028.
"As well as representing our country and providing enjoyment to the millions watching, our athletes also inspire people of all ages to get involved in sport in their own communities.”
Phil Smith, Executive Director of Partnerships at Sport England, said:
“The athletes that make it to the podium all start somewhere – and for many, that’s at their local grassroots club. So we’re delighted to be working in new ways with UK Sport, investing in new sports like 3x3 basketball and prioritising inclusion from the grassroots up, with the ambition that future Olympic and Paralympic GB teams reflect the great diversity of Great Britain.”