British basketball in ‘untenable’ position due to lack of UK Sport funding

British basketball faces an “unsustainable and untenable” position and is so lacking in resources it is unable to employ a single person full-time. That is the stark message from the sport’s chairman, Chris Grant, just two days before GB’s women aim to take a major step towards qualifying for the Olympics for the first time.

In an open letter seen by the Guardian, Grant also questions why basketball receives so little funding compared to sports such as sailing when it is the second most played team sport in the UK after football, with 1.3m regular participants – 47% of whom are from backgrounds other than white British – and has a women’s team that has broken into the world’s top 20.

“GB Basketball is on the up, but I fear we’re going to blow this golden opportunity and – yet again – fail to do justice to the talent and commitment of our players,” Grant writes, before warning that the sport is at a “critical crossroads”.

As things stand, the British Basketball Federation (BBF) gets under £500,000 a year from UK Sport, which goes towards travel and competition costs for its national teams at senior and age group levels, as well as licensing the British leagues for men (BBL) and women (WBBL). That compares unfavourably to £5.65m a year for sailing, £3.4m for canoeing, £3m for equestrian and £1.55m for shooting. UK Sport bases its funding almost entirely on its predictions of medal success.

“We’re the second most-played team sport in Britain; one of the biggest markets for the NBA in Europe, and produce a steady stream of players with the talent to succeed at the highest levels,” argues Grant. “Despite all this, the main response I’ve had from funders and media when I’ve asked them to get behind us is that we’re a ‘niche’