Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister for Communities to detail any steps his Department plans to take to ensure that public funding for sports facilities supports a balanced range of sports, including court-based activities, to maximise participation among women, disabled people, and inactive communities.
Minister for Communities: The responsibility for provision of sports facilities lies with the relevant district council in accordance with Article 10 of the Recreation and Youth Service (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.
The majority of support for sport is delivered by Sport NI on behalf of my Department. I am aware that more than 20 different sporting codes were supported through the £2.1million Olympic Legacy Fund, which I launched last year. I also allocated £3million to Your School Your Club, opening up facilities within the schools estate for use by local communities.
I have sought information in relation to your question directly from Sport NI, they have advised me as follows:
“To ensure a fair distribution of funding by sport and geographical area, Sport NI reserved the right to apply a ‘cap’ within the Olympic Legacy Fund (OLF) programme as part of the scheme rules. However, in the view of Sport NI, it was not necessary to apply a cap for the 2025/26 year, as the number and range of applications received ensured a broad regional spread by Council area and sport. Similar arrangements may be considered for any such funded programmes in 2026/27 subject to the availability of in-year budget.
“Your School Your Club (YSYC) did not include any specific assessment criteria to ensure a balanced range of sports. Projects were assessed based on community need, and a ‘value for money’ score was calculated using proposed additional community users and hours. Project assessments also took account of financial need and areas of deprivation, which links directly to increasing participation in inactive communities. However, eligibility criteria for 2025/26 focused specifically on creating new or enhancing existing synthetic pitch provision. Subsequently, court-based projects were not considered. However, subject to budget allocation for 2026/27 eligibility criteria for YSYC will be widened to include indoor and outdoor community use projects.
“YSYC project identified ‘primary sport’ benefitting from investment, however Sport NI would note that many, if not all, of these pitches can facilitate a range of sports and can be considered ‘multi-sport’ in nature.
“Sport NI welcome applications from all sports, including those aiming to maximise participation from women and girls, people with disabilities and inactive communities.”
In March 2026, I also launched the TNIFF Grassroots Facilities Pilot Programme, a £9 million investment focused specifically on improving grassroots football facilities. This investment is designed to support wider participation at community level, including increased opportunities for women and girls and disabled people.
In addition, Community Empowerment Division (CED) in my Department is responsible for managing area-based programmes designed to address deprivation by reducing social and economic inequalities in Neighbourhood Renewal Areas. All projects must be supported by the local Neighbourhood Renewal Partnership.
CED officials advise that while they do not provide funding directly for sport-related organisations, they do, however, provide funding for projects which align with the four pillars of Neighbourhood Renewal, which, on occasion, may be provided or facilitated within a sport or sporting environment.
ENDS
Your MLA 