Sport England Appoints Chris Boardman As Chair

Chris Boardman has been appointed as the new Chair of Sport England, succeeding Nick Bitel, while Dame Katherine Grainger has been reappointed as Chair of UK Sport.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed the appointmentsm will serve a four-year term starting on 22nd July. 

Over the past four years, Boardman has been working with the Mayor of Greater Manchester on a plan to create the largest cycling and walking network in England, and is currently the Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester.

In his new role, Boardman will support the development of grassroots sport and physical activity, with the aim of helping more people get active after the pandemic.

He will also support the delivery of Sport England’s 10-year strategy, Uniting the Movement, which was published earlier this year. 

“It has been a privilege to serve as Chair of Sport England for the last eight years and I am immensely proud of the organisation as it stands today,” said outgoing Chair Nick Bitel.

“The resilience it has shown and the way in which it has supported sport through the pandemic has been outstanding in particular and I am so grateful to everyone who works so hard to help people live active and healthier lives. 

“I know that Chris will be an outstanding leader and take Sport England to new heights and I wish him every success over the coming years.”

Sport England CEO Tim Hollingsworth said: “With his background as a successful athlete and his incredible work in transforming attitudes to cycling and activity in our communities, Chris is a fantastic appointment as Chair of Sport England and we’re really looking forward to working with him.

“As we begin to deliver on our ambitious 10-year strategy Uniting the Movement, I have no doubt that Chris will play a significant leadership role and play a crucial part in our work to transform lives and communities through sport and physical activity.  

“Chris is building on the fantastic eight years of his predecessor and I am so grateful to Nick for his counsel, support, experience and wisdom during my three years as chief executive and for everything he has done to ensure Sport England is in the best possible shape to thrive in the years to come.

“He has been a brilliant Chair and we have been lucky to have him.”

Meanwhile, DCMS has also confirmed the reappointment of Dame Katherine Grainger as Chair of UK Sport. 

She will serve an additional four-year term at the body, which begins on 1st July 2021. In that time, she will support the organisation on the delivery of its new Strategic Plan to create the ‘greatest decade of extraordinary sporting moments’. 

Grainger said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be reappointed as Chair of UK Sport. I consider it a huge honour to be in this role, especially at an extremely exciting time for Olympic and Paralympic sport in the UK with the Tokyo Summer Games about to start and the Beijing Winter Games just around the corner.

“Working with CEO Sally Munday and the team at UK Sport, as well as our wider high-performance community of athletes, coaches and staff, has been a real pleasure. As an athlete I experienced the wonderful influence and impact sport can have, and so I am very motivated to continue playing a role in enabling extraordinary moments that enrich lives.

“When I was first appointed Chair back in 2017, I was very aware of challenges we faced as a high-performance community and those are challenges I have relished tackling. Having launched our new strategic plan earlier this year, I am determined to do everything I can to help UK Sport fulfil its ambitious mission.”