Written by Matthew Pilkington, Director of Fundraising and Communications

StreetGames is celebrating a landmark milestone in the support it provides to local organisations as we smashed through the £20m barrier raised for local delivery in late 2022. The figure now stands at £23.8m raised with and for Locally Trusted Organisations (LTOs) to implement Doorstep Sport in underserved communities since 2018.

It’s a fantastic achievement in its own right, and one we’re very proud of. But more than that, it’s a vindication of StreetGames’ approach to sustainability and our work helping LTOs to build for the long term.

Back in 2017, through our work with the national network of LTOs, StreetGames had identified a gap in the support that LTOs could access. These organisations, so vital to the well-being of their neighbourhoods and delivering diverse outcomes for communities and young people, were not accessing the full range of funding opportunities available to them. This barrier to funding was holding LTOs back from fulfilling their full potential.

So in July 2018, with support from Sport England, StreetGames put in place a regional infrastructure across England which included specialist sustainability support. The idea was that these regional Sustainability Leads would work with LTOs to identify, access and secure funding wherever it was available. This would be supplementary to the fundraising and partnership work that StreetGames was already doing at a local and national level. It is fair to say that there was no certainty that the model would work and we are grateful that Sport England and, later, Sport Wales too, were willing to go on the journey with us as we navigated the landscape with the goal of connecting LTOs to as much resource as possible to continue their work.

Reaching the £20m landmark is therefore a huge achievement and one that we at StreetGames are immensely proud of.

All of the £23.8m raised over the last five and a half years has paid for Doorstep Sport on the ground for young people with little or no disposable income, living in the most underserved communities. The young people that Doorstep Sport activates are often the same young people that are furthest away from the traditional sports sector, even at the grassroots level. Nearly 70% of participants in Doorstep Sport don’t access any other sport outside of the school or college curriculum.

While this gives us a moment to celebrate, it also gives us a moment to reflect on some of what we have learned on the journey. Our top three lessons from this approach:

1. Some of the detail that lies beneath the headline number is really interesting and informative. Over 90% of the funding that has been accessed has come from ‘non-sport’ sources: funding and resources that were not initially earmarked to be spent on sport. In many ways this is a vital part of the success story; it shows that a whole range of funders are recognising the value of sport, particularly Doorstep Sport, in helping them reach the right audience and achieve outcomes across areas as diverse as mental health and wellbeing, youth empowerment and skills development, crime prevention and community safety and community cohesion. The recognition of sport by diverse funders as a meaningful and impactful route to reaching and engaging young people is to be celebrated.

Whilst this is a success for the role of sport across the wide spectrum of policy outcomes it also raises a question. Is the world of sport and sports funders doing enough to to recognise and support a vital part of its own infrastructure? Many LTOs work with some of the least active groups of young people to build their sporting know-how and confidence and are a vital part of developing sporting habits for the future. Many of those young people will go on to access the more traditional sports sector, others will go on to support future generations through sport in their neighbourhoods. Sport as a sector can do far more to value and support the sporting foundations that LTOs are building; often they are the only people in their communities who are doing it. The recent Chiles Webster Batson Commission found much the same.

2. It has become a sector truism that training and the development of fundraising expertise is what organisations like LTOs need. If they can just learn to fill in the forms better and compete more effectively with the small organisations in the next borough then they’d be alright. The reality is that the people running LTOs are some of the best, most skilled fundraisers around. The environment within which they operate dictates that they have to be and many would not exist to do their vital work if they hadn’t developed these skills. Training and skills development forms part of the picture but LTOs can often be inundated with offers of training of varying quality and relevance.

What LTOs really need is time and capacity, and that is often the role our sustainability team plays, providing the extra capacity needed to scope opportunities, identify where they might connect to the work of LTOs and then putting pen to paper alongside these organisations to get an application over the line. Where StreetGames have not been able to provide this support, there is often nowhere else LTOs can access it. Demand for support outstrips supply, the demands on the time of LTOs outstrips their capacity.

The sustainability support model works, StreetGames committed to an increase in capacity in 2021 but there is still so much more that we can do. Sustainability support doesn’t always have to be provided by StreetGames but LTOs need to be able to access it from somewhere that understands the context within which they are working.

3. Locally Trusted Organisations, by their very definition, are trusted by the communities in which they operate to make positive change happen. Their leaders and volunteers are the local role-models that young people can look up to and emulate. They offer local young people somewhere to go, something to do and someone to trust. They understand what is needed and what works in their neighbourhoods.

Many of these organisations are piecing together their existence by piling up programmes of delivery, living hand-to-mouth on desperately needed funding that so often comes with multiple targets and delivery expectations.

A relaxation in the funding restrictions that governs the lives of LTOs would aid their sustainability no end and demonstrate that they are as trusted by the funders that support them as they are by the communities they support. Funding that enables LTOs to meet their core running and staff costs as well as delivering within their community feels like the holy grail for many operating in this environment. More funders should consider working with LTOs in this way.

With so many young people still left without access to sport and physical activity in their neighbourhoods, the role of LTOs has never been more important. StreetGames will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with these vital organisations to help secure their future, and the future of the young people they support day in and day out. Our sustainability approach shows that with the right tools, great community organisations can build the skills and capacity they need to thrive, but there is still more to do on the part of funders to make it easier to get funds to the places they are needed most.

Our latest fundraising stats show that our unique sustainability support infrastructure has secured over £23.8 million in England since 2018 to support sport and physical activity in underserved communities across the country.

Of the £23.8m raised, 90% has come from non-sporting sources, demonstrating a growing appreciation from funders for the way StreetGames applies sport to support wider social outcomes, from improved mental health and wellbeing to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.

Our Regional Sustainability Leads, funded by Sport England, work alongside local community organisations to raise vital funds for sport and physical activity. The money, raised from a wide variety of local, regional and national organisations, will support local delivery that increases physical activity levels and gives young people a chance to grow their confidence and life skills, have fun, and live healthier, safer and more successful lives.

Currently, less than a quarter of young people in the lowest economic brackets meet national guidelines for daily activity, with the cost and availability of sports and activity provision being major barriers.

StreetGames’ network of 1,600 Locally Trusted Organisations fulfil a fundamental need in communities across the country and are delivering programmes to improve young lives through sport where that opportunity would not otherwise exist, giving access to positive role models, volunteering opportunities and fun activities.

Mark Lawrie, CEO of StreetGames, said:

“I’m proud of StreetGames’ record of supporting sports and physical activity in some of the most underserved communities in the UK, working hand in hand with local partners to bring real change, offering free opportunities, delivered by those that young people trust at the right time, in the right place, and in the right style to suit the needs of young participants.

Our innovative sustainability approach has helped us raise an incredible £23.8 million since 2018 to support community sport. We’ve done so in a way that delivers incredible value for money, raising £10 for every £1 invested. Every pound donated to StreetGames has a big return in the communities that need help the most.

The community organisations we work with are a vital part of the sporting infrastructure – but the sport sector doesn’t pay to keep these sports organisations going. That’s why we work with them to raise funds from non-sport sources, delivering programmes that tackle a whole host of social issues through the power of sport.

These grassroots organisations are the lifeblood of their communities and we’re committed to helping them continue the work they do to change young people’s lives for the better.”

A Project Leader at Empower U, one of the community organisations in the StreetGames network, said:

“The support that we have received from StreetGames has really helped us to think in a more business-like way. We are starting to plan our income generation cycle and think wider than just bids and applications to get money for our work.”

As well as direct fundraising, StreetGames also provides full training for community organisations to equip them with the skills needed to improve their own fundraising efforts, including guidance on how to apply for grants and other funds. Organisations can learn more about StreetGames’ sustainability training by visiting: www.streetgames.org/sustainability-training-programme

Written by Mark Lawrie, Chief Executive

Data from the recently published Sport England Active Lives Children and Young People’s Survey 2021/22 shows there is a clear long-standing gap in activity levels, with a much higher proportion of children and young people from the most affluent families being active compared to those from mid-affluent families, who in turn are more active than those from the least affluent families in England.

In fact, the most recent data shows that children and young people from low-affluence families are significantly less likely to be active than those from high-affluence families (42% compared to 52%) and children and young people going to school in the most deprived places in the country have not seen activity recover to pre-pandemic levels. They are also less likely to say they have positive attitudes towards sport and physical activity, and the data also shows that children and young people from the least affluent families have lower happiness levels than those from the most affluent families and that the gap between the two has widened.

The fact that so many children in underserved communities are still missing out on the opportunity to take part in sport and physical activity is unfortunately no surprise.

The activity gap between those children and young people from the least affluent families and those from the most affluent is a long-standing inequality which is also important because of the way in which those gaps can persist into adulthood. Data from Sport England’s ‘Active Lives Adult Survey May 2020/21 Report’ shows that people in lower socio-economic groups (NS-SEC 6-8) are the most likely to be inactive and least likely to be active. The evidence is clear, giving young people the chance to get involved in sport and physical activity when they are young helps to build positive habits and a love of physical activity at any age, with all the added benefits that brings for physical and mental well-being in the long term.

An introduction to sport at an early age can also be the start of a lifelong journey into volunteering and even into jobs and careers that young people might never have considered previously. Given the obstacles young people in underserved communities still face in finding their way onto that pathway, it is no surprise that the Active Lives survey also shows significant disparities in terms of volunteering, as well as in other areas such as spectating, and swimming confidence and capability.

These inequalities matter, because being denied access to sport and physical activity means being cut off from the many additional benefits they can offer, from improved mental and physical health to increased skills, confidence, and opportunities.

The challenges to increasing activity in these communities have been very well articulated recently in the findings of the Chiles Webster Batson Commission on Sport and Low-Income Neighbourhoods. The Commission set out to explore the important role local community organisations have in providing community sport in low-income neighbourhoods: supporting young people and their communities to be active and to actively improve their life chances. Combining hard academic evidence, and in-depth conversations with community organisations themselves, the Commission found that taking part in community sport has a demonstrable impact on tackling issues such as youth crime and anti-social behaviour, poor mental health, and lower levels of participation in youth volunteering. It calls on policymakers to do more to ensure that community sport is given greater recognition and support within the wider sporting landscape.

Their final report included a number of key recommendations for policymakers, funders and practitioners to better support community sport, including working towards a funding model that provides long-term consistent funding for locally trusted community sports organisations and recognising these organisations as valuable community assets that can be trusted to deliver real change for young people in low-income neighbourhoods to help level up the UK.

At StreetGames, we’re committed to playing our part to ensure that the Commission’s recommendations are acted upon. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and now in the teeth of a cost-of-living crisis, participation in sport needs to be poverty proofed to ensure that everyone gets the chance to feel the many positive benefits that sport can bring.

With overall activity levels beginning to improve, there is good cause for optimism. But it is vital that we keep our eye on the ball and ensure that more is being done to tackle those widening inequalities that risk seeing children and young people in underserved communities further left behind. The benefits of sport and physical activity are powerful and universal – we must redouble our efforts to ensure that access to them is universal too.

Discover more about the latest data in our Activity Levels & Affluence in England and Wales infographic.

Written by Mark Lawrie, Chief Executive

The Summer Holidays are in full swing across the country, and what a summer it is for sports fans. As I write, our Lionesses may yet be the team to make those dreams a reality and finally bring football home. And in Birmingham, the Commonwealth Games are bringing communities together in celebration of some of the world’s greatest athletes.

Sport is a great unifier, with the power to bring people and communities together. It is fun, inspiring, and hugely beneficial for those who can access it. But sadly, as we know all too well, that is not everyone.

As the Summer Holiday wears on, I’d ask you to cast your mind forward and imagine that first day back in school in September. As children pile back into school classrooms and share stories about what they did during the holidays, the places they travelled to and the activities they took part in, imagine the kid on the edge of the group, keeping quiet because they have no stories to tell.

For too many young people, the summer holidays are not some idyllic adventure full of fun and travel. For families without the means to afford holiday clubs or trips, those six weeks can feel like an eternity – hungry, socially isolated, and deprived of the support on offer during term time. The Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research, in their analysis of the Family Resources Surveys from the years 2003/4-2013/14 found that an average of 26% of couples with children and 55% of lone parent families in the UK were deprived of a holiday due to low income, while figures from the Family Holiday Charity show that 2.2 million families, more than 7 million people in the UK, miss out on an annual holiday and 2.5 million children live in families that are too poor to even afford a day-trip. Today, in the midst of the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, and with underserved communities still struggling to recover from the pandemic, more and more families face a summer of hardship bereft of the experiences that make school holidays special.

The Family Holiday Charity defines social tourism as “the inclusion of people living on a low income in holiday and leisure activities”. Social tourism is not simply providing free or subsidised holidays but about recognising that holidays can have great benefits and a positive impact on young people, their families and the communities in which they live.

StreetGames recognises the value of taking young people out of their day-to-day environment and giving them the opportunity to gain new experiences. That’s why, as part of our #Inspiration2022 campaign, we’re working hard to bring this summer of sport directly into the lives of young people in underserved communities.

Between now and 8th August, over 440 young people will attend the StreetGames Summer Camp in Bromsgrove. For many, this will be the first time they have spent an extended amount of time away from home. Our previous experience tells us that those who get involved in Camp will develop new leadership skills, enjoy meeting and mixing with young people from across the UK and perhaps most importantly, be inspired to do more to grow Doorstep Sport in their local communities when they return. The opportunity offered by StreetGames Summer Camp for young people to be included in leadership and leisure activities is blended with the chance to visit a live, elite sporting event. This is part of addressing the disparity in spectation between the least affluent and most affluent families.

Over 2000 young people will have the chance to go to the Commonwealth Games for free, as a result of our work. The chance to see live, top-level international sport is usually far out of the reach of the young people we support. Through #Inspiration2022 we are opening that door and looking to inspire young people to play, volunteer and maybe even coach other young people to get involved in these sports when they are back in their neighbourhoods.

And in Birmingham, more than 30,000 will be involved in Games-inspired activities as part of our Bring It On Brum HAF delivery. We are working with partners including the Golf Foundation, England Athletics, England Hockey and the ECB/Warwickshire County Cricket Club to bring sport to the doorstep of thousands of young people living in underserved Birmingham neighbourhoods. All of that is before you even begin to think about the thousands of young people we will support to have a better holiday through Fit & Fed and HAF in areas like Derbyshire, Lancashire, Tower Hamlets, Sheffield, Hull, Newcastle, Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiff and Gwynedd – the list goes on.

StreetGames believes that trips like these are important formative experiences for young people, affording them the opportunity to mix with people from different backgrounds and broaden their horizons. Participants return home with increased ambitions, enhanced social skills and improved overall wellbeing. This summer, we’re looking forward to giving as many young people as possible the chance to go back in September with their own stories to tell.

More than 600 children and young people filled the Copper Box Arena at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for StreetGames and London Youth’s Summer of Sport Festival which took place on Thursday 25th August. The festival was run in partnership with the Jack Petchey Foundation.

The festival was organised to celebrate 10 years since the London 2012 Olympics, and the ongoing legacy of that summer of which StreetGames, London Youth and The Jack Petchey Foundation are proud to be a part.

Over 600 young people took part in more than 25 different sports and physical activities, including BMXing, Parkour, climbing and circus skills. Throughout the day, special guests from the world of sport and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport dropped in to experience first-hand many of the amazing sports and activities that London Youth, StreetGames and The Jack Petchey Foundation help young people from underserved communities to access – continuing the inspiring legacy of our home Olympics.

As well as providing a wide range of sport and physical activity for participants to get involved in, the event also included a star-studded panel of athletes and sports industry leads, curated by the Underground Fan Club, to give the young people insight into what it takes to work in the sport industry.

With food provided by the Felix Project – a London-based food redistribution charity set up in 2016 to tackle hunger and food waste – and the day supported by a team of 25 young leaders from London Youth and StreetGames projects, the festival was a fantastic celebration of the power of sport to help young people live healthier, safer, more successful lives.

James Gregory, StreetGames London and South East Area Director, said:

“This was an amazing opportunity for young people from all over London to get the chance to come together in an iconic venue to try out so many different sports and activities. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who helped support the event and we couldn’t have asked for a better way to mark 10 years since the London Olympics and celebrate the difference that legacy continues to make in the lives of young people.”

Rosemary Watt-Wyness, CEO of London Youth, said:

“Ten years on from London 2012, the Summer of Sport Festival was such a fantastic opportunity to bring together hundreds of young Londoners to celebrate the power of community sport. Right across the capital, youth organisations and youth workers play such an important role in getting young people active – many of whom might not have had the opportunities and support to take part otherwise. The Festival showcased the very best of this: young people trying new things and creating lasting memories. 2012 was a time for London to shine, and we’re proud to continue the legacy of the Games, creating opportunities for young people to discover a lifelong love of sport and physical activity.”  

Victoria Mirfin, Director of Programmes and Partnerships at the Jack Petchey Foundation, said:

“It was wonderful to see so many young Londoners at the event, trying out so many different sports – many for the first time. Jack Petchey Foundation was delighted to support this fantastic day. We hope it has inspired some future Olympians but, most of all, we hope it has helped many young people discover sports and activities that they will enjoy taking part in for years to come!”

Written by Mark Lawrie, Chief Executive

StreetGames knows that sport is about far more than physical fitness. We believe – and our network proves it day in and day out – that community sport, delivered in the right way, can have a transformational impact on young people’s lives and the communities they live in. With the right approach, sport can serve as a lever for real social change, offering young people positive alternatives and setting them up for the future.

In recent years, there has been growing attention on the power of sport in the context of community safety. Young people living in low income, underserved communities face real challenges and are more vulnerable to becoming victims or perpetrators of youth crime. And while the number of young people in custody remains at a record low, statistics show around 80 per cent of prolific adult offenders begin committing crimes as children – with the economic and social costs of reoffending costing an estimated £18 billion per year.

But we’re increasingly seeing how sports-based interventions can help break this cycle and provide the support and mentoring that young people need to begin moving down a better path. The recently published Chiles Webster Batson Commission report identified the ways in which sport can help young people to build positive pro-social identities, as opposed to anti-social ones, while StreetGames, working alongside Loughborough University, has been at the forefront of developing best practice in this area with programmes such as London Safer Together as well as collaborations with PCCs and Violence Reduction Units from Greater Manchester to the West Midlands, and from Derbyshire to Plymouth.

It’s an approach that has been given a further vote of confidence this month following the announcement of a new Ministry of Justice-funded programme providing £5 million to deliver sports programmes focused on preventing youth crime and anti-social behaviour. The funds will support voluntary and community sports organisations to carry out targeted work supporting children and young people who are at risk of entering the criminal justice system. The funds will be distributed by a new consortium, which is being chaired by the Sport for Development Coalition and involves leading sector experts the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice and StreetGames.

The goal of the fund is to engage and support vulnerable young people at risk of involvement in crime, anti-social behaviour and serious violence, and to build stronger connections between the sport sector and criminal justice partners to coordinate the support for them into positive life choices. Part of the programme will also involve training sport organisations to use sport, physical activity and mentoring to better meet the needs of the most vulnerable young people in their communities.

This investment will primarily be targeted at the “secondary cohort” of vulnerable young people aged 10-17 across England and Wales. Secondary prevention supports children and young people who could be considered to be at-risk of entering the justice system due to particularly challenging circumstances or additional vulnerabilities. This includes those at risk of school exclusion, those experiencing complex safeguarding issues, and those identified by the police as being vulnerable, or already being involved in anti-social behaviour, as well as a more targeted approach to young people who are vulnerable as a result of the area where they live, i.e. those living in areas with high rates of youth crime or in the bottom 20% for deprivation, where children are at greater risk of being perpetrators or victims.

Interventions will be tailored in such a way that they can provide additional structure to support a pro-social approach and to reduce the risk of involvement in anti-social behaviour, violence or gang activity.

With nearly 1,000 expressions of interest since the programme was launched last week, it’s clear there’s a huge appetite amongst community sports organisations to be able to deliver more of this focused community safety work, and a real belief in the power of sport to help young people to make positive life choices and stay on the right side of the law. Sport, provided in a safe, supportive environment, gives young people a sense of belonging, and exposes them to diverse, positive role models. It builds confidence, teaches new skills, and perhaps most importantly it offers these young people a safe space to go, with trusted mentors who can give them the support they need and which too many of them aren’t getting elsewhere.

We welcome this significant commitment from the Ministry of Justice to preventative approaches, and are excited to be working within the wider consortium to support this vital programme.

Written by Mark Lawrie, Chief Executive

As Britain’s Cost of Living crisis continues to bite, underserved communities across the country are facing an uncertain future. For many families, rising costs are putting ever greater strain on household budgets and the impact on children and young people in these neighbourhoods cannot be overstated.

Sport and physical activity can be a welcome relief in anxious times, and a great way to help young people stay mentally and physically healthy. But in tough times, activities like these are one of the first things to go as families tighten their belts. Despite the proven benefits of sport, access remains limited for too many. We know that fairer access and more opportunities for young people in underserved neighbourhoods can make a huge difference to their wellbeing, but the vision of a truly accessible sporting offer remains unfulfilled.

Last week, I had the great pleasure of joining with partners and sport for development organisations from across the country in the House of Lords to celebrate the publication of the final report of the Chiles Webster Batson Commission on Sport and Low Income Neighbourhoods. The Commission report offers valuable insight and recommendations about how to move this vision of a truly accessible sporting offer forward.

First launched in 2020 by Adrian Chiles, Charlie Webster and Brendon Batson OBE, the Commission set out to explore the important role local community organisations have in providing community sport in low-income neighbourhoods: supporting young people and their communities to improve their life chances.

It was fantastic to see so many people and organisations coming together to celebrate a ground breaking report, and to hear from some passionate speakers about the value of sport to the lives of young people.

Combining hard academic evidence, and in-depth conversation with community organisations themselves, the Commission found that community sport has a demonstrable impact on tackling issues such as youth crime and anti-social behaviour, poor mental health, and lower levels of participation in youth volunteering. It calls on policy makers to do more to ensure that community sport is given greater recognition and support within the wider sporting landscape.

The final report makes for fascinating reading, and in particular, contains some incredibly useful insights about the impact that locally trusted organisations (LTOs) make in local communities, but its overarching message was simply and powerfully summed up by Adrian Chiles in his remarks on the night – every young person needs something to do, somewhere to go, and someone to trust. That’s the role that so many organisations in the StreetGames network and beyond play day in, day out, in underserved communities across the country, giving young people the chance to enjoy sport and physical activity in a safe, trusted environment in the heart of their neighbourhoods.

While the Commission does an excellent job of shining a light on the difference LTOs are making to young lives, it is also up front about the challenges they face. Many of these organisations operate in a near-permanent state of financial precarity, living hand to mouth and stretching every pound as far as it will go. Too often, coaches and volunteers have to redirect their time towards lengthy grant-writing processes and fundraising activities instead of being able to focus on supporting the young people who rely upon them. Furthermore, the short-term nature of current funding models makes it incredibly difficult for many of these organisations to plan for the long-term.

Crucially, the Commission acknowledges the particular value that a place-based approach to sport and physical activity can bring to local communities. As the summative report puts it:

‘To enable children and young people living in disadvantaged communities to take part in sport and physical activity how they would like, provision needs to be built around the needs and assets of individuals and neighbourhoods, using place-based and person-centred approaches. Locally trusted organisations (LTOs) are ideally placed to support this endeavour. They understand local places, have the reach into communities, are trusted by local people, and are connected into local networks.’

The report includes a number of key recommendations for policy makers, funders and practitioners to better support community sport, including working towards a funding model that provides long-term consistent funding for community sports organisations, and recognising these organisations as valuable community assets that can be trusted to deliver real change for young people in low-income neighbourhoods to help level up the UK.

At StreetGames, we’re committed to playing our part to ensure that the Commission’s recommendations are acted upon. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and now in the teeth of a cost-of-living crisis, participation in sport needs to be poverty proofed to ensure that everyone gets the chance to feel the many positive benefits that sport can bring.

As the Commission report and its recommendations highlight, locally trusted organisations are the critical cog in ensuring that participation in life-enhancing sport is something that is available to all. StreetGames has been laser-focused on supporting LTOs for the last 15 years, and they will always be at the heart of what we do.

Our end game commits us to a vision where there is a year-round, multisport offer available in every low-income, underserved community, but we know we can’t achieve that on our own. That’s why the lessons of this Commission are so important – they can offer the beginnings of a roadmap for mainstream sports providers who want to change their practice to better meet the needs of young people from low income, underserved communities.

To ensure young people in underserved communities can have the same access to sport and its many benefits as their better off peers has always been at the heart of StreetGames’ mission. I know that we are joined in that mission by many phenomenal partner organisations who share our passion and commitment. The Chiles Webster Batson Commission will, I hope, prove a valuable asset for the whole of not just the Sport for Development sector but the wider sport sector, equipping all of us with a robust, evidence-led review that proves beyond doubt that when it comes to levelling up underserved neighbourhoods, community sport can and must have a part to play.

Explore more of the Commission’s findings with this sketchnote:

Pink Lady® apples launched the first large-scale art court in central London with a series of basketball taster sessions, hosted by British basketball champion, Lamar Roberts and StreetGames.

The leading apple brand has funded the transformation of the public basketball court, in Joseph Grimaldi Park, Islington, into an energising work of art with the help of artist Coco Lom and community sports-meets-arts initiative, Project in the Paint.

“We wanted to create a joyful, invigorating space where people can refresh their senses” says Pink Lady® UK PR and Social Manager, Kyla Flynn. “The court in Joseph Grimaldi Park, in the heart of the capital, seemed like the perfect place. It’s a public space where people from the local and surrounding communities can go to play basketball or just enjoy the playful, vibrant design while they get some fresh air.”

James Gregory, London regional director for StreetGames, said: “This is a great opportunity for people in London and surrounding areas to come and play some basketball in a new and exciting space! StreetGames will also be showcasing its Basketball Activator workshop at the launch day – which is designed to give people the skills, knowledge and confidence to lead a fun, informal and recreational basketball session in their own community.”