Lacrosse was identified as a ‘development sport’, due primarily to its potential to help people to start and continue to participate in sport. The English Lacrosse Association (ELA) submitted its Whole Sport Plan and was awarded £1.26 million for the four year period 2005-09. While the funding was primarily provided to grow and sustain grassroots participation in the sport, the English Lacrosse Association could, and indeed has, utilised some of the funding to support its England teams. It is for the ELA to decide how to utilise and deploy its Whole Sport Plan funding.
Sport England has spent the following amounts in the last five years supporting lacrosse.
Spent 2003-04 150,833 2004-05 299,000 2005-06 289,333 2006-07 297,000 2007-08 485,598 Total 1,521,764
Since their respective arrivals in post, none of the current Ministers in DCMS have met with the English Lacrosse Association.