The response of voluntary sports clubs to Sport England’s Lottery funding: cases of compliance, change and resistance

In 1995 the Sports Council began to distribute funding from the Sports Lottery Fund. This source of funding was to be the biggest that had ever been made available to sport and regular updates through the media inform the public of the benefits being achieved by the Fund. In England, by far the greatest number of awards have been destined for the grass roots of sport and in particular voluntary sports clubs (VSCs). However, the effectiveness of Lottery funding distributed by Sport England should not be measured simply by its amount as the success of funding allocated at the grass roots of sport depends to a great extent on the willingness, determination, honesty and ability of the VSCs that receive funding to adhere to the funding conditions. With Lottery funding being distributed to sport to further the policy aims and objectives of the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) the conditions of Sport England’s Lottery funding reflect those aims and objectives. However, this paper provides evidence to suggest that whilst VSCs are positive about receiving their Lottery funding from Sport England, their willingness and ability to fulfil their funding conditions are more varied. Thus the amount of funding distributed may not reflect the actual level of benefit accruing to sport in England.