A recent British Elite Athletes Association survey suggests the majority of our members cannot afford to continue to the 2028 Los Angeles Games without a funding increase.
The BEAA this month asked athletes in Olympic and Paralympic sports whether they could continue competing over the next four years on their current funding award. Only 15% of 189 agreed, with an overwhelming 64% suggesting they would end their competitive careers outright, and 21% unsure.
The picture represents a significant threat to British sport: two thirds of the 87 survey respondents who travelled to Paris 2024 said they would be forced to quit before LA.
Athletes are funded through grants (Athlete Performance Awards, or APAs) which are designed to allow them to fully engage with a sporting programme. Funding levels will be confirmed for the next four years after the Autumn Budget.
But with the sporting system under immense financial pressure, and The National Lottery funding unlikely to bridge the gap, the BEAA is calling on the government to increase investment to support the athletes who will represent Great Britain building up to the 2026 Winter and 2028 Summer Games.
“Across sport I’ve seen athletes becoming increasingly reliant on their families to sustain their careers, or quit altogether because they can’t afford to continue,” said Olympic champion Hollie Pearne-Webb MBE. “A lot held on until Paris, but many won’t be able to sustain themselves for another four years without higher grants, especially athletes from lower-income backgrounds. Over recent years many have become blocked from elite sport because of the personal finance needed to make ends meet now.
“It was the Sydney 2000 Olympics that inspired me into sport. Without urgently addressing athlete funding we’ll force out the next generation of British Olympians and Paralympians, or restrict that honour to only the most privileged.”
Pearne-Webb, who chairs the Athlete Advisory Forum, has co-signed a letter with her nine other elite athlete forum members sent this week to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. The forum, which includes Olympian and Paralympian athletes, called on the government to find an urgent funding increase to prevent a “pending crisis.”
“Athletes and their families have shouldered the burden of static grants throughout the cost-of-living crisis,” the letter states. “Now we are concerned that, with the sporting system under immense financial pressure, they will be asked to do so until at least 2028. Such a demand will have devastating consequences.
“The need for increased grants is borne out of concern – not just for the top level of British sport, but for the positive impact this sector has on our entire country. Fewer athletes means fewer medals, yes, but also fewer role models and fewer opportunities.”
With grants falling far behind inflation, the average full-time athlete is thought to receive less than £22,500 annually. Many more are challenged with reaching the top on much less.
Some are even awarded the same in 2024 as in 2012, in which time inflation has run at almost 40%, putting the best funded athletes more than £11,000 worse off each year.
Dominic Mahony MBE, Chair of the BEAA, the representative body that conducted the survey, said: “We are profoundly concerned about athlete funding between now and LA 2028. Athletes are hugely grateful for the support they receive, and none would wish to be seen as unappreciative. But the reality is many have been forced out of sport already as inflation has out-stripped grants for so long, and many more may soon quit under the strain of the cost of living crisis.
“This sector inspires communities across the nation, but will become accessible only to the most privileged if athletes of all backgrounds cannot afford to compete. The funding decisions ahead are an opportunity to help people – regardless of their circumstances – benefit from elite-level sport.
“I’m pleased to say the BEAA has been consulted by UK Sport as it considers its approach to funding elite athletes after the government has confirmed the size of its grant. We know that UK Sport appreciate the difficulties facing athletes, but their ability to act will be limited by what they receive for the years ahead. Increasing the level of awards is an urgent necessity; other measures such as reducing the number of funded athletes will restrict new talent from breaking into high-performance sport. UK Sport must therefore be able to increase awards while sustaining athlete numbers.
“My colleagues across the high-performance system are facing enormously difficult financial choices, so I call for urgent investment before it’s too late.”
The survey reflects roughly one in six of the country’s funded athletes; scaling this sample across British sport would see almost 750 current or potential Team GB and ParalympicsGB stars unable to represent the country by LA.
