We’ve added four national governing bodies to our list of long-term partnerships as we continue our ambition to level up access to sport and physical activity in England.
Swim England, British Taekwondo, British Taekwondo Council and Pentathlon GB join more than 120 organisations that we've partnered with over the past 14 months, with British Rowing also receiving additional funding to that announced in May last year.
They’ve been chosen for their influence and ability to improve access to sport and physical activities and to tackle inequalities.
Our latest Active Lives Adult Survey showed 63% of adults in England are currently meeting the recommended 150+ minutes of exercise per week – meaning there are 1.5 million more active adults compared to six years ago.
However, the research continues to show inequalities in activity levels, with those with long-term health conditions, disabled people, people from ethnically diverse backgrounds and those from lower socio-economic groups reporting lower activity levels.
In total, more than £21m of combined National Lottery and government funding will be distributed across these partnerships over the next five years as they help to tackle these inequalities and use their influence to create positive change.
And for our chief executive, Tim Hollingsworth, this announcement is further evidence of us working towards the goals set out in Uniting the Movement.
“Sport England’s aim is for everyone, regardless of who they are, where they live or what their background is to have the ability and opportunity to be active,” he said.
“We know we can’t achieve this alone, and it is only by working together with organisations from across the sport and physical activity sector that we will be able to bring about the positive change we need.
“We are also committed with them to ensuring that anyone who wants to play sport or be active can do so in a safe, welcoming and accessible environment.
“The partners we’ve announced today have been carefully chosen to support these agendas given their governance or systemic role in sport and will help us build on the recovery we’ve seen in activity levels since the pandemic.”
This announcement brings our total investment on long-term partnerships close to £600m as we look to provide the long-term financial security needed for partners to deliver on our Uniting the Movement strategy and help to transform lives and communities through sport and physical activity.
