Sported is the national network of community groups that supports half a million young people to overcome barriers and reach their full potential. However that network, and others like it across the Coalition, is being critically impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, which has led to the charity launching its 'Keep The Doors Open' campaign, supported by Spurs and England footballer Eric Dier. In this blog for the Sport for Development Coalition, Sported CEO Nicola Walker explains why the campaign is so important.
Park pitches and school halls reverberate to the sound of kids living their best lives up and down the UK on weekend mornings. Sport, making a positive difference at the heart of our communities. An outlet for wellbeing, but also a source of comfort and joy. Conjured up by magical volunteers who allow these young people to grow and thrive in the company of their peers.
They come through the doors and are welcomed into a safe place. We know the drastic pressures our youth feel from the world outside: from social media, from educational attainment, from the complicated challenges of growing up and discovering who they are, and who they want to be. Community groups are havens where they find boundless comfort and support.
ALARMING
But what if those doors were locked and the lights switched off, leaving our youth out in the cold? An alarming prospect. Yet also a very real one as the cost-of-living crisis threatens this vulnerable generation and puts these clubs under significant strain.
Sported works with almost 3,000 community sports groups across the country. Many of them turned to the charity for urgent guidance and support during Covid when the pandemic threatened their very existence.
The models that allowed them to be sustainable, to reach out beyond the touchlines and into every corner of our society, nearly suffered irreversible injury. Gradually, with support and much-needed funding, they have been nursed back to health. However, in recent weeks, we have witnessed countless warnings that the threat level has returned to high.
This time, from an economic virus that is spreading rapidly and with casualties already totting up. More than nine in 10 of these organisations are expressing fears that they will be damaged – along with the kids who rely upon them.
Turning the lights on, especially as winter nears, is hitting these clubs in the pocket. The drastic rise in costs of electricity and gas means three-fold increases in the amounts many have to pay to open the changing rooms before football matches or to hire the basketball court.
For those organisations who own facilities which double as hubs for so many essential activities benefitting young and old, it means impossible choices between slashing sessions, hiking charges and the prospect of going bust.
FUNDING
But the crisis they are facing doesn’t just begin and end with utility bills. It heats up beyond that; 41% of these groups have seen their funding drop already as others tighten their belts. The same number say they need at least £10,000 to deal with the priorities brought on by cost-of-living pressures.
Sported wants to ensure that all young people can continue to access the benefits of community sport through the current crisis, as well as enabling all groups to have equal access to affordable, sustainable and safe facilities. Our plan with this campaign is two-fold: firstly to be able to respond to immediate emergency needs that groups are facing this winter and secondly, over the longer term, work with others to make access and availability to facilities more equitable.
Right now, we are pushing hard to generate funds and support for groups that will relieve some of the financial pressures they and their young people are facing. With nearly half of our groups operating on less than £10,000 per year, we know just a small amount can make a big difference so we’re aiming to not secure grants but also value in-kind donations such as equipment, venue hire, transport and food for participants.
Sported will support those asks by bolstering our capacity support to our network; offering targeted online and offline support around finance, fundraising, facilities and other critical issues. We know this is valuable with more than 65% of our network suggesting planning for the future is a priority.
We have an army of mentors on the front line, offering expertise and support to mitigate these issues and ensure that – in the first instance – these irreplaceable assets simply survive the winter. But every day, they are hearing a fresh tale of woe.
Parents regretfully admitting an extra £1 per week in fees or travel costs is beyond their budget and being forced to keep their child at home. Less revenue through the doors. A hit to these clubs’ ability to subsidise the less well-off. A vicious cycle; 45% of those we work with are located in the UK’s most deprived areas. Already squeezed for cash, they are at the greatest risk of feeling the chill from being frozen out.
RISKS
Not just from becoming inactive, with all the future health risks that brings into play. For so many kids in our society, their time in and around sport represents a lifeline. A place where they can learn to fail, then succeed. To interact with others and build bonds.
While we understand how being active supports their physical and mental health, it also teaches lessons that are as valuable as any they will learn in the classroom. And it isn’t about just hitting the back of the net or dancing like no-one is watching.
There’s the foodbanks or kitchens that ensure they get a warm meal; the homework clubs; the anti-crime initiatives at an impressionable age.... all of those issues which Sported and its fellow Coalition members are tackling through the #OpenGoal framework. We all appreciate how funnelling young people's time into something positive rather than the unfavourable alternative can make a life-changing difference. Losing these rays of light would cast long shadows for years to come.
We recognise the whole sector is facing serious challenges and, by comparison with other sectors, the voice of our beneficiaries is not well heard. We welcome other organisations and Coalition members connecting to the campaign with their own stories of the challenges being faced and the impact, beyond sport, that they are having on (young) people and communities. With an ambition to create longer-term change, we also want to highlight good practice that exists in relation to sharing of resources as examples of what, with support from the right stakeholders, could be rolled out at scale. And if there are local offers or solutions that Coalition members can propose – such as venue-sharing – we would love to hear from them.
One crisis threatens another. And the effects can only get worse without the urgent arrival of help and support. We welcome some of the promises of financial support that have already been made but they must only be a start. Just as during Covid, a failure to act swiftly will cause irreparable harm.
