Funding for Sport

Sporting Organisations require finance for running events and competitions, promotion and development, sports facilities, everyday running costs, training facilities, sports scholarships, salaries etc. Organisations can raise money from fund-raising activities but most will require financial help from outside sources.

Sources of income

The money to build and maintain sports facilities can come from a variety of sources, you may even look at sites like Love Money to find some money-saving tips and interesting articles. However, there are some other great ways to gain much-needed money for sport development:

National Lottery - began in 1994. Bids can be made for a lottery funding grant although they must fulfil certain criteria e.g. access for disabled
Government taxes - National and local government raise money through taxation including gambling levies
UK Sport - distributes money directly and via other bodies
Sports National Governing bodies
Sponsorship
Membership schemes - entrance fees, booking fees, merchandise
Private investment
Individual athletes, teams, clubs, event organisers etc

Various online casino and poker rooms have also started to give back to the sports community by encouraging players to donate part of their online winnings to various charities.

The funding of sports performers

Sports performers can receive money for playing sport in a number of ways - the more successful they are the greater the variety of sources of income. Potential sources are:

Wages - Some sports pay performers a wage for playing
Appearance money - In some sports players can be paid for taking part, usually by the event's sponsors
Prize money - The winner of an event may receive a sum of money
Sponsorship - Financial backing from companies, who use the sport or performers to promote their products
Scholarships - Some schools and organisations pay talented performers scholarships to cover the cost of training and competition, as well as their education
TV appearance fees - Players can be paid for appearing on shows and commentating on matches
Publicity - Well-known performers can receive money for guest appearances, or for activities such as opening new shops

Page Reference

The reference for this page is:

MACKENZIE, B. (2006) Funding for Sport [WWW] Available from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/funding.htm [Accessed

Associated Pages

The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page: