Grange Announces New Requirements to Access Sports Funding

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has announced a “new approach to how the Ministry makes decisions” and how it will “direct investments in sport.”

Minister Grange outlined the new approach in a meeting with national sports federations and associations on Wednesday (today).

In explaining the reason for the changes, Minister Grange said:

“Public funding of sports is an investment for which good returns are expected. Therefore, we must review and update our processes to ensure that public money that is invested with sport governing bodies is well managed. At the end of the day, we must all be able to say we received value for money from our expenditure on sport.”

Under the new arrangements, the Sports Development Foundation will no longer consider requests for funding from sports federations/associations without a full accounting for monies being requested. Federations/associations are also now required to submit outstanding financial reports to be eligible for further financial support.

Minister Grange made clear that the new requirement will also apply in the case of requests to use national sports facilities. The new approach also has implications not only for sports governing bodies but for other entities that organise and promote competitions and which seek sponsorship from the SDF and from the Ministry.

“I believe this new requirement will help us to bring about greater accountability — which is something that we all desire,” said Minister Grange. She continued: “Greater accountability will also make local federations more attractive to private sector sponsors. There is no downside to having greater accountability.”

The Minister pointed out that some national federations/associations do not routinely submit financial reports, and urged them to move swiftly to become compliant with the reporting requirements.

Minister Grange said:
“If you receive over five million dollars from the Sports Development Foundation as subvention, you must provide audited financial statements annually. If you receive below five million dollars, you need to submit a financial statement.

“The organisations that receive monthly subventions must submit quarterly reports.

“And so I’m putting everybody on notice. If [your quarterly reports are] not submitted, your monthly subvention will be held. In other words, I’m saying to you, we have to get our house in order, we have to respond to you when you call on us, so you need to get your house in order so that we, as a team, can proudly say to the people of Jamaica ‘your money is being wisely spent’”.