UK Sport invests record £330 million for 2028 LA Games

UK Sport has recently announced a record £330m investment in Team GB’s Olympic and Paralympic sports in preparation for the 2028 Olympic Games.

Around 50 sports will benefit from this funding, including 18 World Class Programme sports such as athletics, rowing, and badminton, alongside nine development sports, including skateboarding and surfing. Additionally, 18 World Class Programme Paralympic sports will receive funding, including Para swimming, powerlifting, and archery, as well as one development Paralympic sport, goalball.

Five brand-new Olympic sports for the 2028 Games will also benefit from an overall £3m investment. These sports—baseball, flag football, lacrosse, Para climbing, and squash—are receiving great funding for the first time.

Canoeing is another sport to face a funding reduction, with its allocation cut by over £500,000.

CEO of UK Sport, Sally Munday, emphasised that this investment should not be viewed as either a “reward” or a “punishment” for performances at the Paris Games. She stated, “The decision that we’ve made against all the sports is we’ve looked at their potential.”

Regarding athletics, Munday noted, “UK Athletics will receive in excess of £30m for the Olympic and Paralympic programmes, and we believe that’s going to put them in a great place to support their athletes in the lead-up to LA.” However, UK Athletics CEO Jack Buckner expressed the organisation’s “disappointment” over the £1.725m funding cut, emphasising that the 10 medals achieved at both the 2023 World Championships and this year’s Olympics “warranted greater investment.”

Canoeing is another sport to face a funding reduction, with its allocation cut by over £500,000.

UK Sport believes this new funding announcement will further help to cement the UK as one of the most successful Olympic and Paralympic nations in the world.

At the Paris Olympics last year, Team GB secured 65 medals and 124 at the Paralympics. The team finished seventh in the Olympic medal table, behind the Netherlands in sixth and France in fifth. However, UK Sport is aiming higher, with Munday stating the goal is to be “consistently top five”.

UK Sport believes this new funding announcement will further help to cement the UK as one of the most successful Olympic and Paralympic nations in the world. It is a continuation of their current investment, empowering sports to have an ambitious, proactive and innovative approach that will guarantee success during this cycle and beyond. It will play an integral part in underpinning Team GB and Paralympics’ ambitions of achieving and sustaining a top five position within both the 2028 Los Angeles and 2032 Brisbane medal tables.

This record investment certainly marks a bold step forward for UK sport

The funding package also includes measures to help sports and athletes navigate the current financial climate, with additional support for Paralympic sports to address inflationary pressures and their unique needs.

UK Sport’s Director of Performance and People, Dr Kate Baker, highlighted the importance of building positively on Team GB and ParalympicsGB’s success in Paris, calling the investment for the LA cycle “our greatest investment to date.” She expressed excitement about welcoming new sports to the Olympic roster, such as lacrosse and Para climbing, and noted that a collaborative approach with Home Nations partners strengthens pathways from grassroots to the podium. “With more sports and athletes than ever, and the drama and spectacle of LA, I can’t wait to see what our athletes achieve in four years,” she said.

This record investment certainly marks a bold step forward for UK sport, reflecting a deep commitment to empower sports and athletes to achieve success on the global stage and inspire the nation through the 2028 Olympic Games and beyond.