The department is responsible for administering the Sports Subvention Scheme, which provides funding support to National Sports Associations (NSAs) and other sports organisations for the promotion and development of sport in Hong Kong. In 2016-17, the department provided subvention amounting to $280 million to these bodies, enabling 10 800 sports programmes to be organised for more than 755 500 participants.

A total of 84 international events were held in 2016-17 under this scheme. Major events included the FINA Marathon Swimming World Cup – Hong Kong 2016; the 21st Asian Cities Taekwondo Championships; the Hong Kong Inter-city Athletic Championships 2016; the 42nd Hong Kong International Open Tenpin Bowling Championships; the 38th Hong Kong Rowing Championships; the Hong Kong International Judo Open 2017; the Hong Kong Open Fencing Championships 2016; the Hong Kong Junior Squash Open 2016; the 2016 Hong Kong Life ASTC Sprint Triathlon Asian Cup; the 2016 Hong Kong Junior & Cadet Open - ITTF Golden Series Junior Circuit; and the Hong Kong Open Junior Tennis Championships 2016.

A total of 485 local competitions were also organised by NSAs. Key events included the Hong Kong Basketball League 2016; the Hong Kong Football Five; the 2016 Hong Kong National Wakeboard Championships; the Hong Kong Cup Archery Tournament; the Hong Kong Indoor Cycling Championships; the Age Groups Fencing Championships; the Hong Kong Schools Rowing Championships 2016; the Hong Kong Open Ranking Table Tennis Championships 2016; the 36th Hong Kong Volleyball Championship; and the Hong Kong Annual Badminton Championships 2016.

The Hong Kong Basketball League 2016 featured a series of games played by some of the best players in the city.

An exciting moment from a match in the local Men’s Hockey League competition.

Young swimmers in a duet event at the Panasonic Pan Asia Synchronized Swimming Championships cum 12th Hong Kong Synchronized Swimming Open Competition 2016.

Schemes for promoting sport and sports training schemes are important components of these funded programmes. The sports development programmes held in 2016-17 included school sports programmes and a range of training schemes, such as the Youth Football Development Scheme, the Mini-Squash Scheme, the New Generation Table Tennis Training Course, and the Hong Kong Youth (Boys and Girls) Basketball Training Scheme.

A mini competition for children aged five to seven was an event in the Primary Athletes Football Training Scheme 2016-17.

The Home Affairs Bureau and the LCSD jointly organised a 'Symposium on Corporate Governance in National Sports Associations - Governance, Leadership and the Future Development of Sports' for NSAs on March 18, 2017. Held at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, the symposium brought together over 200 representatives from 63 NSAs and related organisations. It provided a valuable platform for NSA representatives to access the latest information on corporate governance, and to share their views with leaders from Hong Kong’s professional, business and sports sectors.