Funding scheme seeks unpopular sports for applications

A Government funded scheme to encourage grass-roots sports development in the UK aims to promote the development of non-mainstream sports.

That’s according to Sportmatch director, Mike Reynolds: “We have given particular support recently to lacrosse, cycling and gymnastics.”

However, the scheme has a government remit to attract commercial sponsorship into grass roots sports development programmes.  Because of this, less fashionable sports miss out on funding awards because unpopular sports are not as commercially viable.

“We are application-led and broadly our awards reflect distributions of population as well as of businesses which are likely to sponsor.”

This also partly explains why the North West region of England received more than double the awards made to the South West (£6.2m compared to £2.6m) up to March 2006.

sportmatch

Besides the issue of commercial sponsorship, as Mr Reynolds says: “The decision on funding is related to the potential quality of sporting delivery - particularly the ability to increase participation and improve basic skills.”

Awards made to squash, table tennis, gymnastics, ice hockey, athletics, rowing, and swimming up to March 2006 totalled around £3.4m which is slightly less than cricket (£3.8m).  Football received more than double this figure (£7.6m).