SSS Welcomes Increase in Funding for Sport

Scottish Student Sport (SSS) welcomes the Scottish Government’s announcement in Tuesday’s draft budget to uplift sports funding by £40m this year.

This week’s announcement shows that the Government has listened and clearly recognised how important sport is to public health, young people, and showcasing Scotland on a global stage.

The budget outcome follows close collaboration and consistent messaging across sportscotland, Scotland’s Governing Bodies of Sport (SGB’s) and other national partners including the Scottish Sports Association over the last year – all aimed at persuading the Government to honour its commitment to double annual funding to sport.

This academic year has been a challenging one for SSS as we have had to adapt to new ways of working following funding cuts in the summer. While this sport-wide increase in funding does not immediately solve this – and while the funding of tertiary education remains challenging – it does provide greater security for SSS as we pursue our key objectives this year which include:

• Running Scotland’s biggest multisport programme with 100+ events
• Supporting vital developments in colleges and universities, including promoting inclusive growth in sports clubs
• Advocating for the huge benefits sport and active wellbeing can bring to Scotland’s colleges and universities

Elsewhere, we are also delighted that the Government has shown its commitment by announcing plans for a Summer of Sport, which promises to be a celebration of all sports, and participation at all levels.

Welcoming the draft budget figures, SSS COO Stew Fowlie commented:

“Tuesday’s draft budget is undoubtedly good news for sport in Scotland. The fresh investment of around £40m is a result of unity of purpose and consistency of messaging across all major organisations in Scotland’s sports community and we are delighted that SSS and many of our key partners will benefit from enhanced support and the ability to pursue new opportunities.

“SSS will continue to work closely with members and partners – and most especially sportscotland – to position tertiary education well within any new developments. In so doing we trust that the enormous contribution Universities and Colleges make to young people, inclusive clubs, strong communities, accessible pathways and strong performance in Scottish sport can be enhanced yet further in the years to come.”