Badminton England has warmly welcomed confirmation of an uplift in funding to its elite programme at the start of our four-year cycle which will culminate in the LA Olympic Games 2028.
Following indicative figures proposed earlier in the year, UK Sport’s funding for the LA cycle has now been confirmed for all sports with badminton’s elite programme set to receive £3,825,000 – a 16% rise from the Paris cycle.
Our burgeoning para-badminton programme has also received a funding boost from UK Sport, being allocated £1,475,000 – also a 16% uplift from our double silver medal-winning Paris cycle – at the start of its four-year journey towards Los Angeles.
This announcement follows news in October of the government’s budget commitment to a £344m multi-year investment to fund Olympic and Paralympic sport in the United Kingdom.
Alongside funding from the National Lottery, this significant financial commitment to the sport will enable us, as the national governing body for the sport in England, to fully support our athletes’ development, drive progress and strive for success across all five disciplines and all our para badminton classifications – and crucially inspire the next generation of young players on the pathway towards the elite programme.
Sue Storey, CEO at Badminton England, said, “We have big ambitions for our programme and bold aspirations for our sport, so confirmation of this funding from UK Sport demonstrates those shared aims and objectives for badminton in this country. It will make a big impact; thanks to the trust and faith placed in the progress we are making at Badminton England, badminton will be able to play its part in delivering more extraordinary sporting moments on the world’s biggest stage.
“I am hugely encouraged by this increase from the Paris cycle and confident that such a commitment will give us the very best opportunity to succeed in the build-up to the next Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Los Angeles in 2028 and beyond.
“Badminton remains the country’s most popular racket sport with more than one million people playing badminton regularly – it truly is a sport for everyone. Now, it is our challenge to nurture that deep-rooted love for our sport and strive for titles, trophies and ultimately medal successes to motivate even more to pick up a racket.
“Thank you to all who continue to make badminton the welcoming, enjoyable, accessible, inclusive and exhilarating sport that it is. And our thanks to UK Sport for their trust and faith in our ongoing work to bring badminton to more people in England whilst excelling at elite level.”
Dr Kate Baker, Director of Performance and People, UK Sport, said: “Following the spectacular performances of Team GB and ParalympicsGB in Paris this summer, it’s so important for us to be able to keep the momentum going as we head into the LA cycle. This is our greatest investment to date, with more sports set to embark on an Olympic and Paralympic campaign with us than ever before.”
Sally Munday, CEO of UK Sport, said:  “It’s thanks to the unwavering support of the UK Government and our wonderful National Lottery players that we are able to announce this historic investment today, towards continuing to create the greatest decade of extraordinary sporting moments. Huge credit to the leaders in our sports for all the hard work they’ve done, with us, over the past 18 months to put us in this brilliant position to be able to say we are ready to win well in the LA cycle and beyond.”