UK government pledges to spend £900m on major sporting events and grassroots facilities

In March, the former chair of funding agency UK Sport Dame Katherine Grainger told BBC Sport that it was “frustrating” that Britain was not staging more major events over the next decade, warning of “a big gap”.

Her successor Nick Webborn said: “We welcome the government’s ongoing commitment to hosting the Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes and Euro 2028…and support their commitment to secure the pipeline of big events beyond 2028 to ensure we can continue to reach, inspire and unite people in every corner of the country.”

Britain is hosting the women’s rugby union World Cup in England this year, along with the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, but the government is not believed to be backing any bids for golf’s Ryder Cup or Solheim Cup.

As part of the funding commitment, the DCMS says that a minimum of £400m will also be invested over the next four years into new and upgraded grassroots sports facilities “that promote health, wellbeing and community cohesion”.

On Thursday the government announced plans for a new School Sport Partnerships and Enrichment Framework for schools to ensure all young people have equal access to high-quality sport and extracurricular activity.

Ali Oliver, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said: “We are grateful to the government for listening and responding so comprehensively to our sector’s united call for a reimagined approach to PE and school sport. This will be an amazing boost to those who work so tirelessly, often against the odds, in PE and school sport.

“Children’s activity levels have been too low for too long. We welcome the government seeking to harness the vast potential of play and sport to change this.”