UK Sport has unveiled a record £330m investment in Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic sports for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, with over 50 sports set to benefit. The funding includes support for five new sports added to the Olympic programme, including baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse, Para-climbing, and squash.
However, athletics has seen its budget reduced for the second consecutive cycle, with UK Athletics CEO Jack Buckner expressing disappointment at the decision. “We’re disappointed with the decision to reduce our share by £1.725m,” Buckner said. “Our 10 medals at both the World Championships in 2023 and this year’s Olympics deserved a higher level of investment.”
UK Sport CEO Sally Munday defended the decision, stating that funding should not be seen as a “reward” or “punishment” for performances at the Paris Games. “We’ve looked at each sport’s potential,” Munday explained. “UK Athletics will receive over £30m for the Olympic and Paralympic programmes, which we believe will put them in a great position to support their athletes ahead of LA.”
The total investment will exceed £400m when athlete performance awards (APAs) are included. APAs provide financial support to individual athletes, contributing to their living and sporting costs. In the Paris funding cycle, £70m was awarded in APAs.
Other sports to receive funding include canoeing, which saw its budget cut by over £500,000, and modern pentathlon and equestrian, which received smaller budgets. Rowing, however, saw an increase in funding to £24.85m from £22.72m.
British Basketball Federation chair Chris Grant welcomed the award of £2.925m, primarily to develop the 3×3 format of the game. “Basketball has entered a new era,” Grant said.
UK Sport aims to improve its Olympic medal table position from seventh to consistently top five. “We’ll be really forensic in analyzing our performance,” Munday said. “We’ll leave no stone unturned to understand what factors contributed to our seventh-place finish and make necessary adjustments to achieve our goal.”
