The government are helping to improve this by setting restrictions on selling playing fields and recreational space. Before a restriction was put into place, 40 playing fields a month were being sold.
The government have also invested in school sports by donating £686 million to build new facilities, £459 on PESSCL, and £10 million in 2002 to help re build run down playgrounds in at least 500 schools. They have been funding and giving grants to the educational system to help purchase new equipment and coaches to promote sport further for a few years now and already the UK has seen an improvement in the quality of facilities.
Fundraising has, and still does come from the national lottery. Since 1994 it has turned into a major source of funding for the sports council that can be accessed via applications from different organisations and clubs across the UK. Similar to the national lottery, funding has come from the millennium commission. Around twelve projects came from this sum of money in the year 2000, the most famous probably being the Wembley Project.
Within the sports industry, there are three sectors. These sectors are public, private, and voluntary.
The public sector of sport includes leisure centres and facilities that are open to the public. These tend to be simple facilities where clubs can take place, sports can be performed and gym training can be taken up. Little money is collected through this sector although wages are paid to workers and equipment fees are usually reclaimed. The public sector is not a money making sector of sport and is not a commercial way of providing sporting facilities, its cheap costs and the convenience means that sport is promoted throughout different areas within the UK. Public sector funding comes from the government and taxes as it is widely available to the public and is made for that specific reason. This helps to promote the participation n sport and as most people in the UK are tax payers they feel that they should get their moneys worth and therefore participate in sports of some form.
The private sector involves a money making process where everything is commercialised. Private clubs allow people of “higher class” or a better income to use their own facilities – but at the same time they are charged extortionate prices. Some of the companies within the public sector are Canons Health Clubs and JJB gym. These companies have opened their own private facilities with the correct facilities and equipment in order to attract the market that they wish to sell their services to; the market being mid/high class people with a fairly high income and money to spend on leisure. The private sector receives no grants and no income from taxes as they are all about profit. Grants are also rare in the private sector unless there is a huge partnership that could potentially benefit both companies dramatically.
The voluntary sector is purely for the love of sport. The public sector consists of people that have come together voluntarily and decided to start a sporting club without looking for any profit or money. They merely wish to give their time to train people and help them realise their potential or raise young children from grass roots level and help them move on into a sporting life. They are supported by government funds or donations given to them by people taking part in the club. This pays for equipment and perhaps the rent of facilities needed to keep the club running smoothly. The people who run voluntary sports clubs give up their own time to teach others, and pass on the skills that they have acquired. The voluntary sector can receive funding from grants, membership fees, loans, and sponsorship.
Many thousands of Britons have now become passionate and very involved in sport, especially football. Football dates back to approximately the 1820’s when men used to play in the streets, which was known as “mob football”. These were little more than violent, bloody street battles where many were injured and properties vandalised. The football field was the length of the town with some 500 players participating. Although violent, this helped to develop community spirit, team work and cooperation. Eventually the game developed into an organised sport with many rules, regulations, and roles that must be taken up in order for a game to be played safely.
The worlds first known football club was Sheffield Football Club, which was closely followed by Notts. county football club at around 1862. Structured games then began to take place, with rules in play, referees at hand and spectators watching the game for entertainment. Everything started to click into place, and left us with our now fairly civilised world of football. Towards 1878, matches became floodlit and the game grew stupendously. The fact that means of transport had been improved by rail and that it was a cheap way for people to entertain themselves meant that the popularity of football was on the rise. The law of 11 players on a team had developed by 1870, and the FA cup was first played a year later in 1871. Eventually, in 1888, the football league was created. The original league clubs were as follows:
- Aston Villa
- Everton
- Blackburn Rovers
- Accrington Stanley
- Bolton Wonderers
- Burnley
- Derby County
- Notts. County
- Stoke City
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
- West Bromwich Albion
- Preston North End
As the popularity of football grew, the size of crowds increased considerably and the time came that it was essential for stadiums to be built. Here is a table displaying the cup results for previous years.
Another sport that has been developed over a number of years is Rugby. It has an interesting history and has grown to become one of the world’s biggest and most well known sports. It started as a simple accident when young schoolboy William Webb Ellis, picked up the ball during a school soccer match in 1823. The ball-carrying tactic introduced by the young boy soon spread to a number of other English schools. In 1839 pupils at Cambridge University gave the game a trial, which they then named "Rugby's game." Game play continued and was played both throughout schools and in leisure time. In 1848 the first set of rules of the game was devised and Rugby soon gained wide recognition throughout the UK. In 1863 the supporters of the ‘non handling’ game formed the Football Association. In 1871, 21 amateur clubs established the Rugby Football Union and drew up the original laws of the game. Toward the end of the 19th century many Rugby players were taking pay for their efforts. The Northern Rugby Union was formed in 1895 by a group of clubs that wanted to recompense their players for time taken from their jobs while fulfilling playing engagements. This organisation was renamed the Rugby Football League in 1922. Rugby is popular with the media and is huge on television. Matches are advertised and televised, with media interviews and follow ups – the same as football.
Sports provide many jobs in media, health services and in general. Sport has helped the economy to develop and will continuously do so, making money and providing entertainment for all.
