Erin Kennedy MBE was recently awarded an OBE in the King’s New Years Honours List and worries lack of funding could lead to a less diverse Team GB.

There are warnings that a lack of funding could threaten the next generation of UK sports stars.

According to new research lack of money to compete in their favourite sport is the biggest threat to the next generation of sports heroes.

Other barriers to overcome include access to facilities and coaching.

Erin Kennedy MBE, was recently awarded an OBE in the King’s New Years Honours List and trains in Henley on Thames.

The two-time Paralympic gold medallist cox worries lack of funding past the grassroots stage of future stars sporting careers could lead to less diversity in sport:

“It’s not to say that we aren’t going to have a glorious future in sport, we absolutely will, but we may see less diversity in sport and we may see less people from diverse backgrounds representing Great Britain and that’s not something any of us want.”

“Sport can be one of the first things to go”

Erin says the cost of living crisis also affects professional athletes, with many having to consider if they can afford another four year cycle of funding and training:

“Thinking ahead about these up and coming athletes the ones that are battling to take the next generation of places, it’s something that’s really really tricky.”

The Paralympian worries without funding schemes to carry athletes past grassroots sports, that some families will be unable to fund their loved ones sporting career.

“For parents who are having to make difficult decisions about where their money goes, sports can be some of the first things to go.”

What does the research say?

Two thirds of Brits (66%) say they believe more should be done to support Britain’s talented young athletes achieve sporting success and over a quarter (27%) say that a career in sport offers great opportunities to younger people from under privileged backgrounds. That’s ahead of public sector jobs like teaching (14%) and NHS (15%) – or private sector jobs like finance (14%) and IT (25%).

The research was conducted by The GLL Sport Foundation ahead of the application window opening for the GSF Awards 2025 programme – where £1.4m in bursaries and free gym memberships will be made available to communities up and down the nation – in what is the largest independent athlete support programme of its kind in the UK.

The GLL Sport Foundation was launched 17 years ago by leisure operator and charitable social enterprise GLL, with the aim of supporting talented young athletes with funding and practical help.

The programme continues to widen and deepen the opportunities that come through sport across all communities.

More than two thirds of those polled (79%) admitted the success of UK athletes, teams and sportspeople, is also important to generating a sense of national pride.

The research found this was heavily influenced by the success of heroes such as Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane, and Jessica Ennis-Hill all of whom are “inspirational role models” and now household names.

But supporting sport is seen as important by the UK public – 78% of those surveyed said taking part in competitive sports benefited young people’s physical health, discipline/focus (69%) and social/teamwork skills (66%).

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