The FA's "impending appointment of three new female directors" saw it rewarded with nearly £9M ($12M) of public money on Monday, according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. Having passed "long-overdue governance reforms" in May to avoid being stripped of all its exchequer and National Lottery cash, the FA saw a "second tranche of funding" for '17-21 released to take its total Sport England grant to £14.6M ($19.4M). That was "less than half" of the £30M it received from '13-17 but "only because of a change of Government policy to target those who do no exercise at all" as opposed to subsidizing active people to play more sport. This has meant "less money being awarded to national governing bodies" and more to charities and community projects. Amid the "threat of all funding being withdrawn," the FA agreed to revamp its board and council at the end of last season, including meeting a target of 30% female representation on its board (TELEGRAPH, 10/2). The PA reported the FA was among four national governing bodies to receive grants from Sport England on Monday. FA Dir of Participation & Development Kelly Simmons said, "This funding will help us deliver on maintaining, as well as unearthing, players, coaches and officials, from all backgrounds and abilities. It will also be crucial in our pursuit of sustaining existing, and pursuing new, formats of the game in a response to changing playing habits." England Boxing received nearly £3M ($4M) to "recruit and retain more regular boxers from a wider range of backgrounds." After a £1M ($1.33M) award in February, England Squash has been given almost £7M ($9.3M) "to support its regular players and increase female participation." British Wheelchair Basketball received another £1.4M ($1.86M) to take its total grant to £1.7M ($2.26M) "to improve the network" of regional performance centers (PA, 10/2).
