Funding of Sport Development

Pages: 243-258

DOI: 10.4324/9780080570099-22

Abstract:

This chapter explores the funding of sport development activities, focusing particularly on the issues related to the actual processes by which funding is gained and the key concerns affecting both funding bodies and those seeking funding. The main focus of the chapter is to examine some of the issues related with funding sport development within a complex and dynamic environment, with a focus upon public sector involvement in the broad aim of increasing participation. The funding network for sport is extremely complex, and within the constraints of a single chapter, it is simply not possible to address all of the appropriate sources and mechanisms via which money is channelled into sport. Neither is the intention of the chapter to simply list those sources of funding available, as this detail is available elsewhere (see, for example, https:// www.sportengland.org/index/get_funding.htm). There will obviously be some omissions that are worthy of debate beyond that available here, for example, the massive unpaid contribution of the vast number of volunteers who contribute to sport (see, for example, Nichols et al., 2004). Instead, the chapter will focus upon some of the key funding sources and examine some of the issues associated with the use of these sources in funding sport development. The provision of such funding in itself does not lead to positive outcomes, such as increased participation, and some of the concerns surrounding the associated resource issues of using such funding will also be discussed. Whether the focus of sport development is on equity, or equality, ‘many SDO’s and deliverers of sport development programmes more prosaically have identified a lack of funding as the major obstacle to achieving equality of opportunity’ (Jackson and Nesti, 2001, p. 151). Public sector funding of sport has faced, and will continue to face, a variety of challenges and the National Lottery is only a partial answer. As Jackson and Nesti (2001, pp. 156-7) suggest, ‘if there is to be a realistic chance of Sport England’s strategy achieving its objectives, the mission of More People, More Places, More Medals is implicitly underpinned by another catchline of More Money’.

Source: Scopus