Edinburgh Giants win National Lottery funding to expand wheelchair rugby league

What is the background?

Edinburgh Giants is an inclusive sports club offering disabled and non-disabled people the chance to play together. Inclusive sports Edinburgh clubs like this one give young disabled people access to organised league sport that many mainstream clubs cannot accommodate.

What happened?

In June 2026, Edinburgh Giants received over £26,000 in National Lottery Awards for All funding. The grant funds training and certification for 12 people in wheelchair rugby league coaching and first aid, who will then develop, run, and evaluate a nine-month wheelchair rugby league programme for around 100 disabled children and young people in Edinburgh.

The funding is part of a wider wave of Edinburgh groups hosting National Lottery-funded arts, sport, and community activities tied to Glasgow’s hosting of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

How did it happen?

Edinburgh Giants made history in June 2025 as the first Scottish team to secure a place in wheelchair rugby league’s top-flight Super League competition. That breakthrough created the opportunity to launch a second team competing in the Reserves and Development competition, adding training and playing opportunities for around ten more people each week.

The new National Lottery funding builds directly on that momentum, converting the club’s on-pitch success into a structured coaching pipeline aimed specifically at young people, rather than relying on the existing playing squad alone to sustain the club’s growth.

Why does it matter?

Training 12 new coaches, rather than funding equipment alone, builds capacity that outlasts a single season — those coaches can keep running sessions long after this specific grant ends. Targeting the programme at around 100 disabled children and young people focuses the investment on building a pipeline of future players, not just supporting the current Super League squad.

The club’s Super League breakthrough gives the youth programme a visible pathway: a young person joining through this programme can see a realistic route to the same top-flight competition the senior team now plays in.

What were the key results?

• Over £26,000 awarded through National Lottery Awards for All, June 2026
• 12 people to be trained and certified in wheelchair rugby league coaching and first aid
• Nine-month wheelchair rugby league programme planned for around 100 disabled children and young people
• Edinburgh Giants became the first Scottish team in the wheelchair rugby league Super League, June 2025
• Second team launched in the Reserves/Development competition, adding roughly ten weekly places
• Funding tied to Edinburgh’s wider National Lottery-backed activity around the 2026 Commonwealth Games
• Programme designed to be developed, run, and evaluated by the newly trained coaches themselves

What happens next?

Edinburgh Giants plans to launch the nine-month youth wheelchair rugby league programme once the 12 coaches complete their training and certification.

The club will evaluate the programme’s reach and outcomes as part of the National Lottery funding requirements.

Scottish Disability Sport is expected to track how the programme feeds players into existing club and league structures.

Edinburgh Giants said it hopes the youth programme will help sustain both its Super League and Reserves teams over the coming seasons.