British Handball did not expect to receive performance funding from UK Sport but the decision is never-the-less disappointing.
We find ourselves in a ‘chicken and egg’ situation that our sport is expected to become an Olympic medal contender with zero funding, before it can be considered for funding.
Our senior and other age-group teams are almost totally self-funded. Players pay for hall hire, accommodation, equipment and all other related costs - as well as their own travel costs.
The lack of funding means that we are unable enter European-qualification or World-qualification events. This is because of the risk of being drawn to host the event and being potentially bankrupted by the process.
There is a misconception that team sports are expensive to fund. The reality is that British Handball could put together a programme that would get us started on the path to future success with as little as one-third of a percent of UK Sport’s current NGB Performance budget.
Nevertheless we remain committed to continuing our programme of re-establishing our GB national team across age groups and to seek financial support from other funding parties, both public and private.
