Community sport and national leagues will receive the bulk of the Government's first $80 million release from its $265 million Sport Recovery Package.
Auckland club rugby. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
A $68 million fund (Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa) will go to support community sport. $34 million comes from the Sport Recovery Package with the remaining $34m from existing Sport NZ funding.
An initial $7.3m will go towards improving facilities for New Zealand's upcoming hosting of World Cups.
The country is hosting the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup and co-hosting next year's Women's Cricket World Cup with Australia.
$25.4m from the first release of the Sport Recovery Package will go to national sports organisations, such as New Zealand Rugby, New Zealand Cricket, Netball New Zealand and Basketball New Zealand.
This funding will also support specific sports with the cost of running premier national leagues affected by Covid-19, including basketball.
It's unclear how much each sport will receive.
There's $10m for a second Community Resilience Fund to provide further immediate support to a broader range of eligible local and regional organisations.
Sports Minister Grant Robertson announced said, "Today we're setting out how $80m will be invested, with $54m of that over the 2020/2021 financial year for organisations from community level through to elite level.
"All levels of the sector have been affected by Covid-19 and this funding is focused on making sure the sector continues to thrive, while also ensuring New Zealanders can continue to maintain their wellbeing through physical activity."
The funds will open for application by the end of August.
"Sport NZ has also earmarked $3m for individuals and families in financial hardship who are unable to take part in sport and recreation opportunities. Details on how this funding will be distributed will be released in coming weeks.
"All the funding announced today, and the remainder of the package will continue to place a specific emphasis on groups who are traditionally less active or are missing out, including women and girls, Māori, disabled people and our high deprivation communities.
"Having prioritised initiatives that focus on the areas in most need of support, Sport NZ will continue to engage with the sector to decide how the remaining $180m is best spent over the next four years to help sport recover, strengthen and adapt," Robertson said.