Without funding from the National Lottery, much of the support given to elite athletes in Wales would not be possible. The makeup of Team GB would look very different without all the Lotto and Thunderball tickets bought over the last year.
National Lottery funding has been a game changer for Welsh sport for nearly 30 years.
Since those big money balls first started rolling in 1994, the National Lottery has directly funded elite Welsh athletes, supported the grassroots clubs through which they emerge, and has also been invested into creating world-class sporting facilities.
There are over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, which allows them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support.
Vital support services – including those provided at the Sport Wales Institute - in areas like nutrition, performance advice, training plans and physiotherapy, are all powered by National Lottery funding. All these disciplines are critical in getting Welsh athletes performing at their best at the top levels of international sport.
Since 1994, sports clubs and projects across Wales have been awarded £356m thanks to players of the National Lottery. £6,177,013 of that total was awarded by Sport Wales through the Be Active Wales Fund between April 2023 and March 2024.
Lottery funding has also helped pay for facilities such as the Principality Stadium, Wales National Pool and the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome. These iconic sporting venues push elite athletes in Wales to their best.
Sport Wales’ Chief Executive Brian Davies believes National Lottery funding has proved vital at all levels of sport in Wales: “Lottery funding changes lives – both at a community and elite level, and that’s exactly what it was designed to do. It wasn’t intended to just make lottery winners into millionaires. The lottery has been a significant player for all of Welsh sport.”
Thank you to all National Lottery players – you’re an important part of the team!