SCOTLAND’S sporting stars of the future are being assisted by tens of millions of pounds from the Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities scheme, with the largest sums going to football to assist the nation’s hopes for a return to the European Championships and World Cup finals.
Figures provided by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) show that almost £38 million has been or will be spent on projects across the country, with the largest amount to an individual sport, some £9.4m, going to football.
The largest sum from the CashBack for Communities scheme – the money taken off criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act – goes to sports facilities and community projects, with more than £10.5m either spent or committed.
The sums per sport are as follows: Boxing Scotland £500,579; Badminton Scotland £336,000; Basketballscotland £2,077,893; Scottish Athletics £228,951; Scottish Football Association £9,416,278; Scottish Hockey £317,000; Scottish Rugby Union £7,311,002; Ocean Youth Trust £493,533; Scottish Sports Futures £6,099,754; Scottish Squash £228,000; Street Soccer Scotland £139,775; and Tennis Scotland £149,000 – adding up to a total of just less than £37.8m.
The Scottish Football Association has managed a number of strands of activity funded by CashBack including the Football Equity programme, which has led to a huge increase in young people playing football and having access to community clubs.
Basketballscotland has provided opportunities for young people to play in school and clubs, and Scottish Rugby Union has provided “street rugby”, which is a portable non-contact form of the sport.
SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor, convener of the cross party group on the future of football in Scotland, said: “Scotland might not be at the World Cup this time around – but with continued Scottish Government investment such as this, it won’t be long until our men’s team are back on the global stage, following the great success of our women’s side in recent years.
“This is a significant investment in community sport by the SNP since coming to power a decade ago – and the CashBack for Communities scheme has been a fantastic initiative since being launched a decade ago, and it continues to transform towns and villages across the country.
“We’ve seen nearly £38m go into our community sporting organisations and facilities since 2008 – with nearly £9.5m of this going to the SFA, helping to tackle inequality in our national game, as well as giving 12 to 16-year-olds the chance to play more football through the successful Midnight League. The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting our national game – and investment like this will help Scotland produce the stars of the future.”
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