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Eric Dier announced as ambassador for Sported

Eric Dier Sported

Eric Dier announced as ambassador for Sported

By Sported |  29th November 2020

Tottenham Hotspur and England defender Eric Dier has today been announced as an ambassador for Sported, the UK’s largest network of community groups supporting 500,000 young people to reach their full potential.

 

Eric’s focus, determination and talent make him an ideal role model for young people across the UK. He understands that being involved with a local community group is about so much more than sport – it is about helping young people build self-esteem, develop healthy relationships with their families and peers and feel a sense of self-worth. As an ambassador, Eric will support and promote Sported’s work in a private as well as public capacity.

This announcement comes as Sported announces its selection as one of the three charities for the Times and Sunday Times 2020 Christmas Appeal. Sported believes that being part of the appeal will help mobilise public support for community sports groups up and down the country who use sport to create change. The focus will be on harnessing the community spirit fostered through the pandemic to boost local volunteering and generate the funds needed to help communities respond to the impact of Covid-19 and sustainably rebuild.

Sported’s network consists of 2,600 community sports groups across the UK representing 100 different sports, from parkour to paddle-boarding, boxing to baseball and kabaddi to kayaking. These groups tackle the most serious social issues affecting communities including youth violence, discrimination and poverty. Sported helps empower the local heroes running these groups by providing much needed professional expertise, resources and operational support, free of charge, to help their group survive and thrive.  

One of the groups Sported works with is HR Sports Academy, which Eric recently visited. HR Sports Academy delivers quality sports sessions, sports education, and community development programmes to schools and disadvantaged communities in London. It was set up by Mickela Ramsay-Hall, who is passionate about using sport as a catalyst for positive youth development and success. The sudden death of her sister, the rise in youth gun and knife crime and cuts to youth services motivated Mickela to reduce conflict in and around Haringey and help young people realise their potential.

Sported has been working with HR Sports Academy to help this community group grow and develop in a sustainable way and reach even more young people. This support, which is helping reinforce the Academy’s long-term future and significant impact on the local community, comes in the form of advice and guidance on topics such as governance, resourcing, fundraising and funding applications. HR Sports Academy also participated in a Sported programme to provide training to community groups on the use of sport and physical activity as a means of reducing youth violence.

During his visit, Eric met with coaches, young leaders and young people who regularly benefit from HR Academy’s support and heard first-hand about the impact that it is having on their life.

One of these young people was Suraya, who has experienced many challenges in her life. She has been to three different schools, been home-schooled and ran away from home more than once. Her involvement as a participant at HR Sports Academy has been life-changing. The provisions have helped her to be surrounded by positive role models, kept her off the streets and engaged in productive activities. She has gained many skills and certificates volunteering as a young leader. The past year she has absolutely thrived.

Suraya

“Being involved with HR Sports Academy has made a huge difference to my life. It’s not only helped me become more focused at school but I’ve also developed so many new skills that I know will help me in the future. I know I’ll continue to face challenges life, but thanks to what I’ve learnt at HR Academy and the support I’m getting from them, I feel like I can overcome anything!”

– Suraya, young leader HR Academy

Eric Dier said: “I’m really excited to be joining Sported as an ambassador. I know how much getting involved in sports can help young people and I’m looking forward to visiting as many of the sports groups as I can and witness for myself how much of a difference they are making to communities across the UK. It is a privilege to take on this role.

“At HR Sports Academy it was fantastic to see how much enjoyment the young people clearly get from their involvement in these activities, but far more important to know the deeper difference it’s making in their lives. I’m humbled by the work of the group leaders who commit so much to supporting these young people with the challenges they face.”

-Eric Dier, Sported Ambassador

Nicola Walker, CEO of Sported adds: “We’re thrilled to have Eric join the Sported family. Judging by the reaction of all the young people during his visit to HR Sports Academy, he is a great role model for young people. We’re looking forward to working with him closely and continuing to make a real difference to young people’s lives.

“HR Sports Academy are a wonderful example of the way in which sport can be used to engage young people and provide them with routes to more positive futures. There are countless number of similar stories across the UK which reflect the critical role sport plays in the lives of young people. Our work at Sported is to ensure that groups like HR Sports Academy can grow their support for young people during these difficult times.”

Nicola Walker

Chief EXECUTIVE Officer

It has never been a harder time to be a young person growing up in the UK. One in 4 children live in poverty; recorded knife crime has more than doubled in the past 5 years, 80% of young people note their mental health has worsened in recent months and youth unemployment is at an all-time high. In addition, 750 youth centres and more than 4,500 youth workers have been lost over the last 10 years and spending on youth services in England and Wales has been cut by 70% in real terms. Sported’s network is continuing to make a difference to hundreds of thousands of young people’s lives across the country.

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For press enquiries, please contact Julie Burley

Email:  j.burley@sported.org.uk 

Tel: 07974302999.

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Times Appeal Announcement

Sported Times Appeal Charity

Sported selected as one of three charity partners for the Times and Sunday Times 2020 Christmas Appeal

By Sported |  28th November 2020

Each year the Times and Sunday Times run a Christmas Charity Appeal which promotes three charities to their readership through a series of stories published in the paper and encourages readers to donate to support the work of those charities. 

 

Sported is delighted to be selected as one of the three charities for 2020 Christmas Appeal alongside FareShare and the Tusk Trust.

We hope being part of the appeal will help mobilise public support for community sports groups up and down the country who use sport to create change. We want to harness the community spirit fostered through the pandemic to boost local volunteering and generate the funds needed to help communities sustainably rebuild and respond to the impact of Covid-19.

Tom Burstow, Deputy CEO said,

“Being selected as the Charity Appeal beneficiary creates a massive opportunity for us in 2 ways; firstly to recognise and promote the work of the groups who make up the Sported network and secondly, to raise much-needed funds for us to continue to provide our services free of charge to all 2,600 member groups.”

-Tom Burstow , Deputy CEO

 

Stories featuring Sported’s members will start appearing in the Times and Sunday Times from tomorrow, up until the middle of January 2021.  We’ll be sharing these stories on our website and via our social media so that you can read and share them, and together we can celebrate and showcase the vital work of community sports groups across the UK.

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Tackling racism in community sport – it’s time to act!

Tackling racism in community sport – it’s time to act!

By Nicola Walker, Sported CEO |  23rd October 2020

Black and Asian people ‘Patronised and poorly represented’ in community sport sector – Sported Reseach

George’s Floyds death created a surge of anger and energy at Sported. Staff members jumped straight into educating themselves on the BLM movement and understanding discrimination experienced by Black people in the US and the UK. We shared and read resources, listened to each other’s experience, attended training courses and looked at our own diversity across management, volunteers and trustees.

As a network organisation we saw it as a priority to gather the views of our members and make sure their voices were heard.  We know there is a trend that our members serve geographical areas where a high proportion of people identify as Black.

 

Ethnic representation with Sported

 

We invested significant resources to this – spending many hours listening to our members, through focus groups and 1 to 1 phone calls, brought together in our latest research piece ‘Tackling racism at the grassroots.’

Shining a spotlight on racism

Embarking on this piece of work was daunting – the consequences of getting it right and representing our members were high. Cheddi Gore our East Midlands Regional Manager articulated the challenge powerfully:

 

“It lifted my morale and before I sat down, I thought of the enormous challenge that lay ahead for colleagues and the wider sector to begin the journey of really understanding the effects of racism. I was inspired to get involved and continue the fight for equality and justice. Even though I have lived experiences it was still very difficult and challenging to listen to leaders of sport share their own experiences of race discrimination and the perceived lack of action when dealing with racism in sport, or the inherent inequalities that remain across the sport sector without any notion of accountability but in awarding of Plaques, Charters and Equality Standard Frameworks!”

– Cheddi Gore, Sported East Midlands Regional Manager

When participants shared with such passion and courage our sense of responsibility grew even greater. It felt like we peeled back the surface of community sport and shone a much-needed spotlight on the true experience of managing these organisations.  We have tried to do justice to their openness in our analysis – a story which is best told through direct quotes.

‘’I want to see more Black faces in positions of power’’

Clearly a major concern was both the reality of racism within sport and the lack of diversity at management level to help resolve this. Sporting Equals have stated that 40% of Black, Asian and minority ethnic participants say their experiences of local sport or leisure clubs has been negative compared to just 14% of white British.

This lack of representation in the governance of sport was felt keenly by community leaders. Given the talent in the room and calibre of feedback, I can only agree with the comment “People like us should be in there making the strategies”. And yet despite a desire to be more diverse many sporting governing bodies are not welcoming the contribution of Black leaders.

“It’s not until they invite me into the conversation that they realise the valid contributions we are making. We shouldn’t have to work so hard to prove ourselves before we even get invited to the discussion.”

I’m happy to see immediate changes in response to the latest BLM movement, particularly the commitment of Sports Councils to commission work to understand racism and racial inequalities. Through the Perrett Laver network, new appointments are being made to boards and the views of those directly affected are being highlighted. It is encouraging to see Sport England’s blog on Black voices, the first of which was written by one of the participants of our focus group, The Blair Project.

 

“It’s aimed at us, but it’s not written for us”

Given that many of the community groups in our network do amazing work on shoe-string budgets – access to funding is key. Feedback from Black leaders was that funding streams aimed at increasing diversity are generally not written by diverse people. Participants explained they feel they must write a proposal to tackle racism, but not how they see racism – how the White-led funding organisation sees racism. The funder then suffers from an ‘affinity bias’ towards White-led groups. (Affinity bias is the unconscious tendency to get along or side with others who are like us.)

“Whatever we feed in, the strategy will still be played out through a White lens.”

There is a positive movement to change this with greater BAME representation within funders. But it is an issue that Sported also need to ensure we take note of – creating grant application forms that serve the purpose they are designed for.

 

Our commitment

At Sported we appreciate that this challenge cannot be resolved overnight. As one participant stated,

“the experiences I had growing up, I don’t want that for the next generation.”

 

However, we absolutely acknowledge that systemic change is needed in community sport to remove racism and encourage equity. To effectively do this we all have to start listening to those who know best, i.e. those with lived experiences.

Sported wants to give Black community leaders the platform to do so. We have a long-term commitment to represent their voices in the sector and across decision makers. We acknowledge change is required and commit to including those at the fore-front in this process.

Nicola Walker, Sported CEO

 
 

“It’s not until they invite me into the conversation that they realise the valid contributions we are making. We shouldn’t have to work so hard to prove ourselves before we even get invited to the discussion.”

– Sported Member

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Tackling racism at the grassroots

Tackling racism at the grassroots

By Sported |  21st October 2020

Black and Asian people ‘Patronised and poorly represented’ in community sport sector – Sported Reseach

Black, Asian and minority ethnic people working or volunteering in community sport can feel “patronised and poorly represented” within the grassroots and community sport sector, according to new research published by Sported.

The national charity helps community sport and youth groups survive and thrive through business support and funding advice, and has the largest network of Sport for Development organisations in the UK with more than 2600 clubs and groups in its membership.

It carried out the qualitative research this summer in the wake of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests. Between August and September, it conducted focus groups with 15 organisations in its network, across all four home nations, in order “to understand directly from members their experiences of racism with the community sport sector”.

It is already well established that discrimination and unequal access to opportunities faced by Black, Asian and minority ethnic people in the UK are prevalent in the sports sector. According to Sporting Equals research from 2018, just three per cent of Board members of national governing bodies are Black, while 40% of Black, Asian and minority ethnic participants said their experiences of local sport or leisure clubs had been negative, compared to just 14% of white British.

Some of the comments in the report, which are all anonymous, include:

• On systemic racism: “We’re not trusted with money.”

• On equality: “The experiences I had growing up, I don’t want that for the next generation.”

• On representation in sports governance: “Whatever we feed in, the strategy will still be played out through a white lens.”

Recommendations from the report include for Sported to:

• create capacity for an ongoing BLM working group to discuss findings and agree actions.

• ensure safe spaces or focus groups to share experiences and develops ideas, eg community cohesion events.

• challenge sports councils and national governing bodies (NGBs) to review representation and pathways for individuals.

• identify leaders from different sectors and provide platforms to amplify or spotlight issues.

• review potential bias in funding streams, and continually question suitability for target audiences.

• generate more multi-media content and case studies to highlight best practice and case studies.

• allow participants to describe their own identity (including protected characteristics) and agree to be open and honest.

The charity’s Chief Executive, Nicola Walker, commented:

“At Sported, we felt compelled to act in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests. Black, Asian and minority ethnic people are telling us they feel patronised and poorly represented in grassroots and community sport right across the UK. As an industry, it is evident that much more needs to be done. Sported is committed to improving the opportunities and experiences of our members – as we feel they are best placed to drive the change we want to see. We also invite any other organisations to input into the findings of the research, or share them across their own networks.”

-Nicola Walker, Sported Chief Executive

Jos Johnson is Director of Sport for Highfield Rangers FC (Sported member involved in research) and a representative of the Inclusion Advisory Group at Leicestershire & Rutland County FA. He said:

“Now all the talk has been done, and the consultation has been done – now is the time to act.”

-Jos Johnson, Director of Sport for Highfield Rangers

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Sported creates the Community Pulse to listen to members

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Sported creates the community pulse to listen to members

By Sported |  8th April 2020

During this difficult time our top priority remains the health, safety and well-being of our staff, members, volunteers and the communities in which we work.

 

We understand that Coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing significant disruption and challenges so we have created the Community Pulse to be a constant line of communication between Sported and our members. It creates an opportunity for them to feedback to us as and when they want or need to.

 

It captures information on the stresses and strains on their community groups including operational challenges, risk of closure, wellbeing of group leaders and the impact on people within their community. It also provides an opportunity for members to tell us what support would be most beneficial to them at this time.

 

We are using this information to improve our own response as well as feeding back to strategic partners to make sure our members’ voices are represented.

 

The survey went live on Thursday 19 March 2020 and to date (10th June), we’ve had over 800 responses from Sported members.

The latest summary report from the survey responses can be viewed here.

 

Sported members who would like to share their views can complete the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Community-Pulse

 

If you would like to discuss how you might be able to support Sported and our members at this time, please get in touch by email: info@sported.org.uk or by phone  0203 848 4670.

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TSB launch new partnership with Sported

TSB launch new partnership with Sported to help local community sport groups.

 

 

More than half of people who attend local community sport groups are concerned their group will shut down.

 

 

A quarter of people say their local community sport group has already had to close.

 

New research from TSB reveals that more than half (54%) of people who are a member of a local community sport group are concerned that their group will struggle to stay running without professional support from external organisations.

 

The research highlights that these groups are heavily reliant on volunteers and a significant number of members are worried about the ability of groups to continue running in the future.  And it’s no wonder, with a quarter of people (25%) having already seen a local community sport group forced to close.

 

Many of these community groups are run on shoestring budgets by only a handful of volunteers.  Almost three quarters (71%) of people say that the leaders of their community sports group run the group in their spare time; yet 61% of people are concerned about the lack of volunteers able to dedicate time to running the group.

 

So why does this matter?

The power of sport in the UK extends far beyond getting active.  Sport plays a vital role in bringing communities up and down the country together – and fulfilling the potential of young people.

 

85% of sport groups exist in urban areas – and 44% are in the bottom 30% of the most deprived areas of the UK1.

 

TSB’s research shows that:

• 82% of parents believe community sport groups are important for their children’s personal development.

 

• More than three quarters (77%) of people feel that community sport is an important part of their social life and helps to maintain their happiness.

 

• Two thirds (68%) of people believe community sport helps with community cohesion.

 

• 68% of people say community sport is vital in helping to transform the lives of young people.

 

• 69% of people say that their local sports group has helped them to meet people from a different background that they wouldn’t have otherwise met.

 

• 65% of people believe community sport is important in helping reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.

 

Safeguarding the future of community sports groups

TSB has an absolute belief that banks should be there to serve the local communities they’re part of – not the other way round.   That’s why Britain’s challenger bank has today announced a new partnership with leading Sport for Development charity, Sported – to support local community sport groups right across the country to continue to be vibrant and accessible.

 

With the help of Sported, TSB branches will partner with local community sport groups to provide professional skills-based support in the key operational areas needed to keep the group running.  Expertise such as budgeting, marketing, social media or PR, for example.

 

TSB believes this partnership can create a step-change in the way local groups are run – and ultimately ensure that the young people who could benefit most from Sport for Development programmes can continue to access their vital support.  The partnership will kick off in four pilot regions:  North East Scotland, South Midlands, Thames Valley & South Coast, and Greater Manchester.

 

Paul Pester, Chief Executive Officer of TSB says:  “For many, local sports groups are the hub of community life and the people who run them and support them all share the same values.  Sport has a transformational power that enables people to thrive – it teaches teamwork and problem-solving skills and it builds a sense of infectious pride that spreads to teammates, families and the local community.

 

“At TSB we are all about working in partnership with local communities and that’s why we’ve partnered with Sported – to enable local communities to thrive through the power of sport.  It’s all about local people helping local people, and our TSB partners are really looking forward to working with sport groups right across the country – to help them continue to make a real difference to the lives of young people in their local community.”

 

Chris Grant, Chief Executive Officer of Sported, comments:  “Sported’s members hold a special place in communities.  The groups collectively shape and inspire the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people around the UK, and create a unique sense of unity and community spirit – all through the power of sport.

 

“TSB is passionate about celebrating ordinary people doing extraordinary things, so we’re thrilled to be launching this exciting new partnership.  It brings together Sported’s network and experience in Sport for Development with the expertise and enthusiasm of TSB staff to help these vital community assets survive and thrive.”

 

-ends-

Media contact details:

Emily Kerr | emily.kerr@tsb.co.uk | T: 020 7003 9491 | M: 07766 504477

 

TSB Media Relations

T: 020 7003 9369 | media@tsb.co.uk

Follow us on twitter: @TSB_News

http://www.tsb.co.uk/media

 

Notes to editors:

• TSB’s research was conducted in January 2018 by One Poll surveying 1,000 UK adults who are a member of, or are regularly involved with community sport.

•1 Data from Sported’s membership database.

 

About TSB

 

TSB launched back onto high streets on 9 September 2013.

 

TSB was built to bring more competition to UK banking and ultimately make banking better for all UK consumers.  TSB only serves local customers and local businesses, to help fuel local economies, because communities thriving across Britain is a good thing for all of us.

 

We have a simple, straightforward and transparent banking model and make clear on our website how we operate and make money.  We offer the products and services people tell us they want, with none of the funny stuff people normally associate with traditional banks.

 

Our five million customers appear to notice: TSB is Britain’s most recommended high street bank and was identified as one of the top 10 big companies to work for in 2017.

 

For further information about TSB Bank plc, please visit our website www.tsb.co.uk.

 

About Sported

 

Sported is a charity and free membership organisation, supporting over 3,000 community sport groups and youth groups across the UK that deliver Sport for Development.  These amazing groups use the power of sport to tackle the root causes of some of society’s biggest problems, such as crime, anti-social behaviour and obesity.  More than that, they are giving disadvantaged young people the opportunities, confidence and support to overcome their personal hurdles and succeed in life.

 

Sported supports the inspirational local heroes that run these organisations by providing free business and financial support so that they can become bigger, more sustainable and more effective. The charity’s network of volunteer business mentors works with its members on a one-to-one basis, providing expert consultancy on business issues ranging from financial planning and fundraising to marketing and governance.

 

Registered charity numbers: 1123313 / SCO43161

 

For further information about Sported, please visit its website www.sported.org.uk.

 

 

 

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Sported appoints Tom Burstow as Deputy Chief Executive

Sported is delighted to announce the appointment of former Unicef UK’s Head of Sport, Tom Burstow, in the newly created post of Deputy Chief Executive.

 

Working alongside Sported’s Chief Executive, Chris Grant, Tom’s portfolio of responsibilities will include managing strategic external relationships and leading on income generation.

 

As Head of Sport at Unicef UK, Tom led a team generating millions of pounds through high-profile sporting partnerships with events, clubs, brands and athletes to support UNICEF’s objective of using the power of sport to realise children’s rights.

 

In 2014, he oversaw Unicef’s ground-breaking ‘Put Children First’ fundraising appeal during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and its Opening Ceremony, raising more than £5m.

 

Tom Burstow, newly appointed Deputy Chief Executive at Sported, said: “Sported is an organisation I’ve long admired for its amazing support of members using sport across the UK to deliver positive change for young people. I’m delighted therefore to be taking up this important role at an exciting time in the organisation’s development and with such a great team in place.”

 

Chris Grant, Chief Executive at Sported, said: “Tom joins Sported with unrivalled experience of building strategic partnerships and leveraging major sporting events to promote and raise funds for the global Sport for Social Change movement. As Sported continues it work here in the UK, his knowledge, expertise and ideas will be a major asset in helping us boost the growth, capacity and sustainability of our 3,000-plus members.”

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Shortlist for inaugural Vanessa Brown Volunteer Award announced

Sported is delighted to announce the first 12 volunteer mentors to be nominated for the inaugural Vanessa Brown Volunteer Award.

 

The award was launched this year to celebrate the life of Vanessa Brown – a much loved Sported staff member and friend – who sadly passed away a year ago today.

 

Vanessa enjoyed a long career in the community sport sector and left an amazing legacy at Sported. Her early work and dedication helping Sir Keith Mills realise his vision of establishing a UK-wide network of community groups using Sport for Development has resulted in the amazing charity that you see today.

 

The annual award recognises the outstanding contribution made by Sported’s volunteer mentors to the growth and development of the charity’s 3,000-plus members. Each of Sported’s 12 Regional and National Managers had the very difficult task of narrowing down and nominating just one volunteer from their respective region to be shortlisted for this year’s award.

 

After much deliberation, Sported is proud to name the following shortlist for the Vanessa Brown Volunteer Award 2015:

 

Amanda McDonald – West Midlands

Anas Hassan – London

Clive Barnard – Wales

Derek May – North West

Frank McGlone – Northern Ireland

John Horton – South East

Maggie Pankhurst – East Midlands

Martin Briggs – South West

Martin Corck – East

Neil Rutherford – Scotland

Peter Lodge – Yorkshire & Humberside                    

Sue Martin – North East

 

The inaugural winner of the Vanessa Brown Volunteer Award will be selected by a guest panel of judges and will be announced at a special celebratory dinner at the House of Lords on Tuesday 14 July 2015.

 

Sir Keith Mills, founder and chairman of trustees of Sported, said: “It is a great honour to celebrate the life of our much missed friend and colleague with the launch of the Vanessa Brown Volunteer Award.

 

I had the pleasure of working closely with Vanessa for many years, and will always remember her incredible warmth, humour and passion for all things sport. It’s a fitting tribute then, that we recognise the contribution she made to Sported by honouring another special group of people – our volunteer mentors. These unsung heroes remain central to Sported’s work as a charity and thanks to their efforts young people across the UK are being given unique opportunities to transform their lives. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our volunteer mentors and to congratulate those shortlisted.”

 

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Olympic medallist and Sported ambassador visits Cast North West

 

danny purvisThe special visit formed part of the  celebration of the one year anniversary of The Supporters Club, BT Sport’s charitable initiative that aims to build a better world by bringing people together through sport. In its first year, £2.5m has been raised from BT Sport customers and BT, with 13 projects in the UK and overseas supported.

 

 

Sported has been selected by The Supporters Club for substantial backing. Sported will use the funds from The Supporters Club to work with ten selected Sport for Development projects, with Cast North West becoming the first member to be chosen to receive funding.

 

 

Cast North West is an innovative project which uses indoor angling as a tool to engage young people who are NEET or at risk of dropping out of school.  Founder, Neil Farnworth, has already been working with a Sported volunteer business mentor to develop sustainable business plans for the project, but now thanks to funding from The Supporters Club and Sported, Cast North West will be able to extend its summer ‘Angling for a Future’ programme to deliver it all year round.

 

 

‘Angling for a Future’ delivers a holistic programme which uses angling as a tool to enhance the employability and educational opportunities of young people that are NEET or at risk of being NEET. The programme offers teaching in an informal and practical educational setting and has a low ratio of young people to coaches, enabling personal one-to-one mentoring and support. In addition, it also includes a vocational element which will enable young people to gain accredited qualifications and skills in specific areas of fish management and work placement. Through the practical nature of the project young people will develop teamwork, communication, time management skills, as well as improving their discipline, patience, behaviour and responsibility.