12/06/2026
This week, the Scottish Government announced £400,000 support for Craig Ferguson's challenge to walk across the US in aid of mental health and su***de prevention charities. What Craig is undertaking is remarkable and the causes he is supporting are crucial to countless individuals. He is a national hero and deserves the utmost respect and support.
Our concern, however, lies with the apparent lack of transparency surrounding how these funding decisions are made.
For three years, Scottish ParaFootball has lobbied the Scottish Government to support disability football in Scotland.
The response has been remarkably consistent: “there is no budget.”
No budget to improve opportunities for disabled young people.
No budget to support our national para-football squads.
Yet somehow, when a project aligns with a major international football tournament and generates positive headlines, £400,000 can suddenly be found.
Scottish football is being asked to do more with less.
More players.
More programmes.
More pathways.
Better behaviour.
Greater inclusion.
Higher standards.
Yet the resources have not kept pace.
While Scotland's political leaders celebrate the nation's sporting success, disabled athletes remain in the margins, forced to fundraise to represent their country.
Our Amputee National Team fundraised its way to Nations League glory in 2025. Our Deaf National Team is fundraising to compete at its World Cup in Australia. Our Cerebral Palsy National Team must raise £50,000 to compete at the World Cup in Atlanta later this year.
These are Scotland teams competing on the world stage.
Choosing to undertake a fundraising challenge is admirable and should be celebrated. Living with a disability, however, is not a choice. Disabled athletes should not have to fundraise for opportunities that ought to exist as a matter of right.
To reiterate, this is not about Craig Ferguson, his incredible feat or the invaluable charities he is supporting. The fact that an important cause benefits does not, however, negate the need for the government to uphold transparency, consistency and accountability in how public money is allocated.
When organisations are repeatedly told there is no budget available, only for significant funding to materialise when the political and public relations opportunities are particularly attractive, it poses legitimate questions about the credibility of the decision-making process.
To many, this is arguably little more than a cheap political PR exercise.
Equality cannot be determined by visibility.
Scotland's disabled athletes deserve better and charitable organisations deserve transparency.
The Scottish Government Scottish Disability Sport The Scottish Football Union Scottish Powerchair Football Association Amputee Football Association Scotland Scotland National Cerebral Palsy Football Association John Swinney
