Scotland’s sports governing bodies have written to both the SNP and Labour demanding a firm commitment to future funding after the topic was omitted from their party manifestos.
Funding Concerns
Sport chiefs are now seriously concerned that money promised by the Scottish Government in January’s Budget will not be forthcoming and have called for clarification on whether an uplift in cash is now at risk.
In January, the Government finally committed to an uplift of £40 million for sport, with a £15m ‘Summer of Sport’ initiative and £20m for core funding of sports organisations. This fell short of the SNP’s promise to double funding for sport from £50m per year to £100m by the end of the Parliamentary term.
Governing bodies, however, were reassured by ministers that they would receive another £30m uplift in 2028/29.
Manifesto Omissions
In their recent manifestos, Labour made a number of pledges, including promoting sport in schools and a guaranteed chance to swim for all primary five pupils. The SNP highlighted their £40m commitment to sport, as well as a £5m Taster Fund that focused on six sports. They also mentioned bringing more major events to Scotland, and free swimming lessons for primary school pupils.
There is, however, no mention of the future £30m for governing bodies, nor indeed of maintaining that uplift. First Minister John Swinney poses with Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games mascot Finnie.
Other parties, with the exception of Reform UK, have committed to delivering real-term increases to sports funding.
Culture Sector Comparison
The culture sector, meanwhile, has been given a promise of an uplift to £100m per year, with the possibility of another £50m also being found. This has compounded worries that the money promised for sport might end up being used elsewhere — or simply not come at all.
In letters to both First Minister John Swinney and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, seen by Daily Mail Sport, it is pointed out that while Scotland’s many sporting successes are celebrated by politicians on the election trail, firm guarantees for the £100m a year uplift remain absent, and governing bodies continue to struggle on a daily basis.
Previous Warnings
As Daily Mail Sport reported last year, sports chiefs previously wrote to Mr Swinney, warning that Scottish sport was in ‘crisis’ and ‘running on empty’ thanks to its failure to honour its manifesto pledge.
Their Running on Empty (RoE) campaign highlighted a worrying scenario for sport, should funding stand still, with increased costs and demand on the sector having a major impact. Labour gave vocal support in Parliament to this campaign last year.
Governing Bodies' Manifesto
The Scottish Governing Body for Sport (SGBS) set out its own manifesto for Holyrood last month, demanding that the Scottish Government’s commitment to funding was met. It also asked for the creation of a dedicated ‘Minister for Sport and Active Life’, aligned within the Health portfolio, and working across government.
This, it said, would ‘provide leadership and accountability for maximising sport’s contribution to prevention, wellbeing, economic growth, social value and community resilience’.
The role currently sits under the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy and Sport, with Marie Todd in post since 2025.
