UK Sport, the UK government agency responsible for investing money from the National Lottery and the government into Olympic and Paralympic sports in the country, has revealed plans for a £330 million (€398m) investment set to benefit more than 50 sports in the buildup to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is UK Sport’s greatest investment to date.
The Olympic sports funded are:
- World Class Programs (18): Archery, Aquatics (all), Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Canoeing, Cycling (all), Equestrian, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Taekwondo, Triathlon and Weightlifting.
- Development sports (9): Basketball, Fencing, Handball, Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, Surfing, Table Tennis, Volleyball and Wrestling.
The Paralympic sports funded are:
- World Class Programs (18): Boccia, Para Archery, Para Athletics, Para-Badminton, Para Canoe, Para-Cycling, Para-Equestrian, Para-Rowing, Para Swimming, Para Table Tennis, Para-Taekwondo, Para Triathlon, Powerlifting, Shooting Para Sport, VI Judo, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Fencing and Wheelchair Rugby.
- Development sports (1): Goalball.
In addition, five sports set to return or debut at the Olympics and Paralympics in 2028 will collectively benefit from £3 million (€3.6m) in total from UK Sport to support their ambitions in Los Angeles. They are: Baseball/Softball, Flag Football, Lacrosse, Para Climbing and Squash.
Finally, as part of an innovative pilot project in partnership with Sport England, an additional £1.55 million (€1.9m) has been allocated to Basketball to pursue the 3x3 discipline, which is outside the scope of the LA performance investment awards, explained UK Sport.
