John Swinney humiliated by Judy Murray over failing women in sport on same day he brags about funding women’s football

John Swinney has been left humiliated after his boasts about funding women’s football were ripped up by Judy Murray OBE. The First Minister did a photo call at Hibs stadium Easter Road in Edinburgh on Tuesday to mark Women and Girls in Sport Week, and announce new funding to get more girls playing football.

It was announced on November 4, the same day famed tennis coach Murray, mum to Andy and Jamie, held her event in Edinburgh where she called out the Scottish Government for failing to listen to her and experts who want to boost the participation of women in sport.

She claimed that there was no point trying to speak to the SNP Executive about how important sport is because “they’re not listening.” According to the Times, she also criticised the £20m investment in the “Summer of Sport” to mark Scotland’s qualification for the World Cup, saying it would have been better spent providing physical education (PE) opportunities in state schools.

Speaking at a Fearless Women in Sport event in Edinburgh on Wednesday she said: “Over many years I have been invited to go to speak with people in government, politicians. I have largely come away from them feeling like I’ve wasted my time because they’re not listening. And I think certainly, more recently, not understanding the challenges we have societally with children and screens and adults on screens and the challenges that’s going to provide.

Instead of utilising £20m elsewhere, it could have used to improve the outcomes of school children. She said it should have “celebrated the summer of sport by putting a specialist PE teacher into every primary school”.

The money was announced by Jenny Gilruth in May, and sent to SportScotland which allegedly used it to “give children and young people the chance to get active in their local communities through events and activities hosted by schools, clubs, sporting bodies and local authorities”.

But Murray believes it didn’t have an impact as sporting opportunities in state schools had gone “backwards, backwards, backwards”. She added: “It does make me wonder where the next generation of Scottish Olympians and Commonwealth athletes are coming from.”

Murray was sceptical of the £20m fund, pointing out that it could have delivered substantial new sports facilities, and said of the SNP’s approach it was more “the need to be seen to be doing something and throw an amount at it” rather than a planned investment that would deliver a legacy. “Who is doing the analysis on what is the return on that investment?” she asked.

She wants PE to be taken more seriously in every school, concluding: “Women’s sport is in a far better place than when I started coaching, and girls today can watch women in a way my generation never could. The visibility is much better, but seeing it on television only gets you so far.

“We still lose too many girls in their early teens and, if we want them to stay, we need PE taken seriously in every school, many more women coaching and more chances for girls to play and compete with other girls at both recreational and performance level.”

Mr Swinney boasted about the funding for football on Wednesday, claiming that “Project 2035 is about building the momentum we have seen in recent years in women’s and girls’ football and creating even more opportunities across Scotland.

“Our ambition is simple: every girl in Scotland who wants to be part of football should have the opportunity to do so, whether as a player, coach, official, volunteer, supporter or leader. By working together we can help Scotland become a leading nation for women’s football.”

In June 2025, the UK Government announced at least £400m to be invested in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities across the country over five years. Funding of around £8m a year in Scotland is being delivered through the Scottish Football Association.

As part of the programme, East Kilbride United received a grant of £200,000 towards a new artificial grass pitch in 2024/25, followed by a grant of £110,000 towards a new changing pavilion in 2025/26 for their facilities at Kirktonholme – enabling greater use of the facility for women and girls.