The FA, Rugby Football Union and England & Wales Cricket Board have written to U.K. PM David Cameron as part of a "last-ditch attempt to convince the Government not to take an axe to grassroots sports funding," according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. The governing bodies of Britain’s three biggest sports "all signed a joint letter" to Cameron urging him to act over planned cuts of up to 40% in the budget of the Department for Culture, Media & Sport. The Lawn Tennis Association, England Athletics, British Cycling and the Amateur Swimming Association were also among more than 20 national governing bodies (NGBs) to have endorsed the letter "amid fears over the loss" of much of the £100M ($151.2M) a year they are given to "boost participation." The letter "marks the start of a two-and-a-half week campaign." Members of England’s football, rugby and cricket teams could be recruited to help front the campaign, which is being orchestrated by the Sport & Recreation Alliance, the umbrella body for Britain's sports NGBs. However, with Chancellor George Osborne close to finalizing a "comprehensive spending review" that will be published on Nov. 25, the campaign "may have come too late to make a difference." The DCMS also funds Britain’s anti-doping agency, UK Anti-Doping, which "last month warned its very existence was in jeopardy" over proposed funding cuts (TELEGRAPH, 11/8).
