Any Brits still up: Help us explain this funding thing? How much does the govt give a millionaire like Mo Farah?

IMHO...

Taxpayers money should not be spent for people doing sport. No matter if they are rich or poor. No matter if good (Olympic champ) or bad.

Schools, healthcare, police, roads... should get taxpayers money, not athletes.

And I'm an athlet myself (well, kind of...)

Pep wrote:

IMHO...

Taxpayers money should not be spent for people doing sport.

Your opinion isn't even remotely on the topic of this thread. The Brits have a different system for supporting their national teams, live with it.

Pep wrote:

And I'm an athlet myself (well, kind of...)

No, you're a self-absorbed runner doing 1/5 the training of an actual athlete, like most of LetsRun.

Brojos, does this help? Top Bing result for uk athletics funding programme.http://www.uksport.gov.uk/pages/how-the-funding-works/This seems relevant:

Maximum award levels for athletes on Podium level funding are currently set as follows:

Band A - £27,737

Band B - £20,804

Band C - £13,869

The actual size of APA an athlete receives is dependent upon a means testing exercise. UK Sport has set a maximum income threshold of £65,163 (including their APA) above which an individual’s APA will begin to be deducted pound for pound. This means, for example, that an A band athlete can earn a further £37,426 from sponsorship, prize money or earned income before it affects the maximum APA figure they can receive. This figure obviously rises for band B and C athletes.

I think you're right, Farah wouldn't be getting any money.

Hardloper's link to UK Sport above explains the funding system. UK Sports was set up under 'Royal Charter' - basically it's Government sanctioned and ultimately is accountable to the state. A large proportion of the funding it provides to athletes comes from the National Lottery - again, a Government sanctioned lottery run under franchise by a private company. Therefore, its ability to fund athletes is based (largely) on lottery revenue rather than taxes (removing one key objection from the newspaper article).

One other contextual thing to bear in mind: the Daily Record is a Scottish newspaper. The Commonwealth Games are being held in Glasgow. The UK is very London-centric in terms of attracting the biggest events/names. So this probably just feels like another snub. To pin your frustration on one man is silly. To argue that Farah 'has spent years taking from the system, yet shown no interest in giving anything back' is just plain ridiculous journalism.

I think the funding comes from our National Lottery fund, who also dishes out funding to all sorts of good causes - and not direct from the taxpayer.

The funding has been spectacularly successful in raising the standards in cycling, the GB team winning a bagful of gold medals and Britain providing the last two Tour de France winners.

Not nearly so successful at such sports as swimming or athletics.

There is no direct public funding going to athletes personally

The national lottery (which is run by a private company for profit) is the source of funding

Part of the money from the national lottery goes to charities and sports

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lottery_

(United_Kingdom)

To repeat the government is giving runners zip

The funding is great for devloping athletes and top athletes. it allowed Faraha to get where he is. He has a family and deserves everything he can get. He also humbels himself to train in kenya for extended periods without luxuary.

Potentioally should be a time when professional raod runners leave amature sport though. same goes for tennis etc in olyimpics

But then again any athlete can run London Marathon and complete in their championships so why not top athletes.

Farah also gets NHS HEALTH CARE sure you dont have that in America

We don't pay him anything.

All athletes are means tested, his career earnings and sponsorship dictate he requires no support other than, official representative kit and healthcare.

Everyone who competes in the Olympics is an amateur and doesn't earn anything from their achievements. Didn't you know?

It is like mid afternoon over there, why wouldn't the brits be up?

I think his World & Olympic medals are enough return for any investment the GB public have put in him. £28k per year works out at about 0.04 pence per person, so 10 years of support has cost us less than half a penny each to produce one of the most successful distance runners of all time.

A Commonwealth games gold would only rank slightly higher than a national title. If skipping them gives him a better opportunity to do well at a major marathon or more prestigious championships then every sane fan would support his decision.

Hardloper, have your head examined. Your attacks are as violent as they are stupid.

Chiken Tikka wrote:

I think his World & Olympic medals are enough return for any investment the GB public have put in him. £28k per year works out at about 0.04 pence per person, so 10 years of support has cost us less than half a penny each to produce one of the most successful distance runners of all time.

A Commonwealth games gold would only rank slightly higher than a national title. If skipping them gives him a better opportunity to do well at a major marathon or more prestigious championships then every sane fan would support his decision.

Incorrect only people gambling on the lottery 'support' him. Their only interest is winning the jackpot

Actually his post was 100% appropriate (and funny) in this case.

cash man wrote:

The funding is great for devloping athletes and top athletes. it allowed Faraha to get where he is. He has a family and deserves everything he can get. He also humbels himself to train in kenya for extended periods without luxuary.

Potentioally should be a time when professional raod runners leave amature sport though. same goes for tennis etc in olyimpics

But then again any athlete can run London Marathon and complete in their championships so why not top athletes.

Farah also gets NHS HEALTH CARE sure you dont have that in America

No, but we sure do have basic literary requirements.

Funding doesn't come from taxation as such. It comes from the National Lottery - which people don't have to buy tickets for so you could argue that it is irrelevant where the proceeds of The Lottery go. Few people seem to question money going to extremely wealthy athletes such as Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis.

However , the majority of lottery tickets are purchased by people in the lowest income groups - their motivation is pure despair at the hopelessness of their situation and the sheer impossibility of finding a socially useful , secure , well paid job. It is morally unjustifiable that this money goes to enlarge even further the bank balance of athletes such as Farah and Ennis who everyone accepts made hundreds of thousands of pounds from their Olympic successes. At the very least , should not they be asked to repay any funding they received - once they are reaping the commercial rewards of that funding?

And as for funding going to American athletes such as Tiffany Porter .... don't get me started on that one!!!

I find it interesting how everyone is saying the money doesn't come from the taxation it comes from the lottery really trying to say the money doesn't come from the government.

If the money from the lottery wasn't going to athletes, it could be spend on roads, poverty programs, health care, military, you name it.

Just because it's a not a direct tax doesn't meant it's not government money.

Money is fungible.

Having said that I applaud the Brits for supporting Olympic sport with government money. I personally believe Olympic athletes inspire the next generation of kids.

wejo wrote:

I find it interesting how everyone is saying the money doesn't come from the taxation it comes from the lottery really trying to say the money doesn't come from the government.

Who's "really trying to say" that then? No-one disputes that the National Lottery is state funded and that they have the final say as to where the money goes, but there's a big difference between choosing to buy a lottery ticket (and let's be honest, who buys a lottery ticket for any other reason that trying to win money back?) and having a chunk of your salary taken out, which obviously you have no say in.