ANDY REED
POLICY
Chair Sport for Development Coalition
Sport for development – an open goal for government © SHUTTERSTOCK/RAWPIXEL.COM
N
ot to be confused with sport development, sport for development is the intentional use of targeted sport and physical activity-based
interventions to achieve positive social outcomes. These outcomes can range from increasing employability, developing skills and reducing crime to sustained physical and mental health wellbeing. The Sport for Development Coalition is a new(ish) body, set up to grow this crucial sector and to highlight the impact that the thousands of charities across the country make – and to help make them better funded. The coalition is backed by Sport
Sport for
sports for development sector will have a role
England, Comic Relief and Laureus Sport,
development is
to play in this, providing opportunities for
as well as the hundreds of organisations
geared towards
deprived communities across the country.
that make up the coalition itself.
achieving positive
It’s become clear, over recent years,
social outcomes
If we are to successfully tackle inequalities in health economics and social outcomes,
that governments and investors in the
we need to do something different – rather
sports sector are looking beyond simply
than keep earmarking funding according
increasing the number of participants.
to the same old methodology. This means
From the government’s Sporting Futures
allowing communities to co-create their own
strategy onwards, there has been a
solutions, with locally trusted organisations
greater emphasis on the social outcomes
and individuals leading the way. This might
from government spending across
mean that some traditional operators – such
sport. These have included personal and
as NGBs and the wider leisure sector – will
community development, mental health
have to relinquish some of their “control”.
issues and the use of sport and games to get people more active and healthier. As Sport England’s Uniting the Movement
For the sector to achieve the strategic goals set by the DCMS and Sport England, there must be greater local collaboration,
strategy has highlighted, however, the
less central control and a confidence to
inequality that remains across both society
allow communities to set in motion their
and across sport needs to be tackled with a
own change through capacity building.
greater energy and specific emphasis. The
The coalition is currently modelling new ways of working and building the evidence
“THERE MUST BE GREATER LOCAL COLLABORATION AND LESS CENTRAL CONTROL” 14
SPORTSNATION.ORG.UK MAR/APR 2022
base for our advocacy work. There is still some way to go for the sport and leisure sector to fully embrace sport for development – and a long way to go for government to understand its vast potential. ●
