This study examined funding levels, resource allocation practices, challenges,

and improvement strategies for sports programmes in public secondary schools in Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, The population of the study was 1,704 and sample size for the study was 625 respondents selected using purposive and proportionate method. Data were collected from principals/vice-principals, sports teachers, and student sports leaders using a structured validated questionnaire by three experts and test with reliability of 0.71. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to answer the research questions, while Pearson correlation was employed to test the hypothesis at the 0.05 level of significance. Hypothesis tested showed a strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship between funding adequacy and sports programme effectiveness. Findings revealed that, funding for school sports programmes is generally inadequate and irregular, with heavy reliance on government subvention, supplemented marginally by internally generated revenue and community donations. Resource allocation was found to be skewed toward high-profile events such as inter-house athletics competition while routine facility maintenance, equipment procurement, and teacher motivation received insufficient attention. Major challenges identified include limited government budgetary allocation, bureaucratic delays in fund release, poor financial planning, and lack of alternative funding mechanisms. The study concludes that inadequate funding and inefficient resource allocation undermine effective sports programme delivery in public secondary schools. It recommends among others increased government investment, diversified funding sources, and capacity building for sports administrators.