Sport England Unveils 10-year ‘uniting The Movement’ Strategy
Sport England has unveiled a new 10-year strategy, Uniting the Movement, which will aim to help grassroots sport recover from the coronavirus pandemic, as well as improve inclusivity within sport, and help the country tackle obesity.
The strategy, which runs until 2031, will also see an additional £50m made available for grassroots sport in the short term, in addition to the £220m of National Lottery and Exchequer funding it has already invested since March 2020.
The organisation says more work will be done to understand ‘where to best target this additional funding’ but will place a ‘particular emphasis’ on supporting children and young people to get back involved in sport and activities.
Across the longer-term, Uniting the Movement will focus on three key areas; advocating for physical activity, building on successful campaigns such as This Girl Can and Join the Movement; responding to the key issues which serve as barriers to physical activity in order to break them down; and ‘creating catalysts for change’, which involves supporting areas such as high-quality data, innovation and digital, as well as working with UK Sport to reform sport governance.
According to Sport England, the key issues identified by its consultation work are grassroots sport’s recovery from the pandemic; bringing communities together to participate; creating positive experiences for young people; connecting sport to health and wellbeing; and protecting facilities to make it easier for people to engage in physical activity.
“This strategy comes at a critical time,” said Tim Hollingsworth, CEO, Sport England.
“Alongside the National Lottery and government, we have made significant funding available, but many organisations are struggling, and activity levels have taken a significant hit. But amid all that challenge and uncertainty, we believe there are also enormous opportunities to fast-track the role sport and physical activity plays in helping people to live happier, healthier lives.
“With a short-term focus on helping sport to recover from the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, this strategy identifies the other major issues that for the next decade will be a priority. At the heart of all this is a ruthless focus on providing opportunities to people and communities that have traditionally been left behind, and helping to remove the barriers that stop them from playing sport and being active.”
Nick Bitel, Chair, Sport England, added: “Sport England is determined that, led by this strategy which is the result of 18 months of in-depth consultation, we will unlock the advantages of sport and physical activity and truly make it a normal part of life for everyone in England, no matter what their background.
“It recognises the enormous challenges of the past year but seeks to make certain that we do everything possible to ensure that investment and resources reach the people and organisations who need it most so together we can change lives for the better right across the country.”
Sport England has also said that it will supplement the strategy with a one-year action plan to be published shortly, with an additional three-year plan once the ‘uncertainty’ of the pandemic passes.
