Sported’s chief executive has urged government to channel investment into the community sport sector to ensure young people are not marginalised and that a range of key priorities can be addressed.

Giving evidence at Westminster to the Culture, Media and Sport select committee’s ‘Game On’ inquiry into Community and School Sport, Sarah Kaye underlined the ability of local clubs and organisations to address issues such as anti-social behaviour, crime prevention, inclusion and employability – as well as improving physical and mental wellbeing.

Kaye welcomed the UK government’s £100 million investment into revamping community sports facilities, announced last Friday, and its focus on deprived areas and to “support greater access and participation levels among under-represented people.”

However it will be an opportunity missed, she added, if government departments and agencies fail to take full advantage of grassroots sport’s unique ability to engage and enthuse teens and young people – and for the local heroes who run clubs to have simpler ways to apply for help.

Speaking afterward, Kaye said: “Investing into facilities will help. It is a chance to strengthen communities and provide improved life chances to young people in particular.

“However the real opportunity is to actively transform our communities by embedding these clubs and organisations into initiatives across the spectrum of government at a local and national level: preventatively reducing youth disengagement, crime, gang involvement and truancy and creating a culture of social inclusion and responsibility.

“We consistently hear from these trusted local leaders and their groups that they want to be a part of the solution to some of our most pressing issues. For that to work, it’s vital we reduce the barriers for them to apply for programmes and funds so we can truly unleash their capacity to deliver.”   

That can only be mirrored elsewhere if affordability and accessibility are knitted into any future strategy for sport, Kaye underlined to the inquiry, with a need to consider subsidies to ensure school and local authority facilities are not exclusively available to the highest bidder.

And there is a chance to leverage help from the private and corporate sector with the likes of the Barclays Community Football Fund demonstrating the win-win possibilities available.

“There are real benefits to be gained from seeking collaborations with that sector, as well as providing tax incentives or match funding that would encourage more of them to become involved,” she added.

The full hearing can be watched here: www.parliamentlive.tv