The government has announced new national restrictions to tackle coronavirus (Covid-19) that'll impact grassroots sport and physical activity.
The restrictions, that’ll apply to all areas of England, come into force on Thursday 5 November and you can find out more on the government’s website.
Tim Hollingsworth, our chief executive, believes the next month will be a challenging time for the sport and physical activity sector but says we'll do everything in our power to help.
“The people, clubs and organisations who are the bedrock of sport and physical activity across England have shown incredible resilience and strength through this year as we've sought to keep active and play the sports we love,” he explained.
“We all recognise the new restrictions are part of a much larger response required by the government because of the rise in infections, but they'll present a significant further challenge and there's no doubt there are difficult days ahead for many in our sector.
“It's never been more widely understood how important keeping active is to our individual physical health and mental wellbeing, and how crucial being fit and healthy is in helping the fight back against this pandemic. It’s therefore vital we do everything we can to continue to support people to keep active within what's permitted.
“We've already several live funding packages available to help support grassroots clubs and organisations who've lost vital income this year and we’re working hard with officials in government to help make wider financial support available.
“We're also delivering important campaigns which highlight the benefit of being active within the restrictions either at home or outside and we'll ensure these resources reach as many as possible.
“There's still much that we can do to stay active, and it's notable that the importance of this was explicitly highlighted by the Prime Minister in his announcement. Our collective job now is to maximise what's possible and do everything we can to ensure that when this period of restriction ends, that sport is in the best place possible to return.”
We’ve a number of resources available on our website that can support partners and activity providers to help people stay active.
Our latest campaign, funded by the National Lottery, helps people to find ways to get active as we deal with coronavirus restrictions. It offers simple, fun and free ways to get active, both indoors and outdoors, that people can enjoy safely.
Visit Join the MovementWe’ve numerous live funding streams open for people and organisations who are struggling financially because of the pandemic as well as resources to support work that is helping people to stay active. We’ll explore further options this week to ensure we continue to offer every avenue of support possible.
Find out more about our fundsOur hub for sports clubs and physical activity groups has a suite of toolkits, guides and case studies to help them through coronavirus and support them to help people to stay active.
Visit Club MattersWe’ve published a toolkit of resources to help partners support people to be physically active as the nights get longer and the weather gets worse. We’ll publish an updated version this week that reflects the new restrictions.
Download the toolkit