Give British Basketball appropriate funding
11,854 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 14 August 2020; it closed on 14 February 2021. The Government responded on 30 October 2020.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Give British Basketball appropriate funding
British Basketball has been underfunded for years, leaving the professional league in the UK at an extremely precarious position during the current pandemic. I would like the government to give the BBL the requested 1 million pounds asked for by Sir Rodney Walker to survive the current situation.
I would like the government to fulfil the basketball community’s request as basketball has been proven to be one of the most popular sports by participation. According to Statista, Rugby League had 62,000 participants playing it in the UK whereas Basketball had 280,000 participating in the UK. Rugby League was given 15 million pounds, basketball was given nothing. The loss of the league would be extremely detrimental to Basketball in the UK.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 30 October 2020. Its summary:
The Government recognises the implications for sports clubs of not being able to admit spectators to stadia from 1 October, and are working urgently on what we can do now to support them.
The response in full:
Sport clubs are the heart of our local communities and it is vital they are protected.
The Government gave unprecedented financial support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sports clubs have benefited from. Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund has also provided £210 million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic.
We know that the decision not to reopen stadia to spectators has had economic consequences for sports and clubs across the country who relied on those fans for income. We have asked sporting organisations, including the British Basketball League (BBL), for detailed financial returns to understand their particular pressures and challenges, and we will continue to design the package of support that will be available.
The Government was pleased that the BBL was able to confirm the start of its new season on 30th October.
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions.json?state=with_response&page=34UK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
5ba5defa19bf8534… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
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