Sports Funding Allocation: A Look at Elite and Grassroots in Singapore

This essay critically examines sports funding in Singapore, focusing on the allocation of resources between elite athletes and grassroots development. The author highlights the importance of sports in Singaporean culture, emphasizing its role in health, democracy, and social cohesion. The essay explores the potential drawbacks of prioritizing elite athlete funding, which may inadvertently neglect grassroots participation and the development of future professional athletes. It references the Singaporean government's commitment to using the 2012 Olympics to promote youth sports and discusses the need for strong grassroots programs to provide a larger pool of players for elite programs. The essay also references studies conducted in other regions that suggest that increased funding does not automatically lead to higher participation rates at the grassroots level. It concludes with a discussion on the importance of providing opportunities for women's football to promote sports at the grassroots level.

Running head: SPORTS MANAGEMENT
SPORTS MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1SPORTS MANAGEMENT
Sports Funding – Something for all, not just for the Elite
Sporting success in elite sporting events such as Olympics typically provides exceptional
theatre. However it does not imply that sports investors can sustain or enhance the funding when
there can be identified other forms of priorities as well. Sport is a vital part of Singaporean
culture. In Singapore we perceive sports as highly essential not only for health but also for
democracy as well as social cohesiveness. However, in recent times I can view critical intricacies
which are being encountered by many sportsmen, schools and sports academy for a high deficit
of funding. It has been observed that beleaguered individuals engaged in certain sports academy
are not getting adequate funds or investments to accomplish their dreams of playing at national
and international level (Wicker, Orlowski & Breuer, 2016).
Furthermore, after delving several articles and journals I have obtained the insights that
providing funds to elite athletes is typically carried out in order to motivate them to develop
greater level of competitiveness. Meganck et al., (2015) reveal that these investments are
essentially been provided to enthuse the sportsmen engaged with elite sports win on the world
stage and further encourage not only the populace or potential sportsmen but also sustain the
global perception of Singapore and uphold the prominence of ‘brand Singapore’. These efforts to
my perspective tends to give a hostile response to grassroots participation and the athletes who
aim to be develop a great professional career in the future.
In the year 2005, the Singapore government made a strong commitment that it will use
the 2012 Olympics as a way towards empowering the young people into the sports. It is a well-
known fact that the sports activities play a major role in people’s lives and help them to lead a
healthy active life. furthermore, it has been seen that an inclusive development of the sports
activities can be achieved only by strengthening the grass root level. A strong grass root level

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athlete will provide a bigger pool of players for the elite programs. However, the situation is
grim with the grass root receives very less attention due to high rates of obesity among the youth
(Telegraph.co.uk, 2018).
Studies conducted in Ireland have signified that the even if the funding is adequate in
terms of promoting the grass root sports, along with the policy implementation. There is no
positive linkage between the spending of the large sums of funds and the participants at the grass
root level. Rather the participation is low and surveys conducted have shown that only 1 percent
of the respondents mentioned the lack of the resources in the local facilities. It was found that the
health problems, motivation and time acts as a barrier towards participation (Niassembly.gov.uk,
2018).
The general manager of Grassroots and Women’s Football in the Football Association of
Singapore views that the girls have the passion and they must be given the opportunity to play
soccer at the international level. This will certainly help in promoting the football at the grass
root level and the Singaporean government can provide adequate funds and form a women’s
football team (ActiveSG, 2018).

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References
ActiveSG. (2018). Building a future for women's football in Singapore. Retrieved from
https://www.myactivesg.com/read/2017/7/building-a-future-for-womens-football-in-
singapore
Meganck, J., Scheerder, J., Thibaut, E., & Seghers, J. (2015). Youth sports clubs’ potential as
health-promoting setting: profiles, motives and barriers. Health Education Journal, 74(5),
531-543.
Niassembly.gov.uk. (2018). Grassroots sport in Northern Ireland: A summary of participation
and potential challenges. Retrieved from
http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/Documents/CAL/Committee-Motions/
Grassroot-and-Elite-Sports-Facilities/3.Grassroots-Sport-in-NI-A-Summary-of-
Participation-and-Potential-Challenges.PDF
Telegraph.co.uk. (2018). Grassroots sport faces funding crisis. Retrieved from
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2347222/Grassroots-sport-faces-funding-crisis.html
Wicker, P., Orlowski, J., & Breuer, C. (2016). Human capital, formal qualifications, and income
of elite sport coaches. International Journal of Sport Finance, 11(3), 204.