INAUGURAL BEYOND SPORT UK FORUM CONVENES CROSS-SECTOR LEADERS TO DRIVE SOCIAL AND LOCAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SPORT

Headline partners Beyond Sport and Sport England, and Official partners The Football Association, Mayor of London and UK Sport join forces to support and inspire action around sport’s potential to address the UK’s most pressing social issues

- 250 senior leaders and world class speakers from International Sports Federations, Non-Governing Bodies, Business, Government, Community leaders, Funders and NGOs in attendance

London, England - On 25 June at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, global sport for social change pioneer, Beyond Sport and Sport England, will bring together 250 senior leaders from across the UK and international experts for a day long Forum exploring sport’s transformative role in British society.

With the release of the first cross-departmental strategy for sport, Sporting Future, in December 2015, Sport England’s Towards an Active Nation in May 2016 and the Mayor of London’s Sport Unites in March 2018, there has been a noticeable increase in recent years in investment, belief and support of sport’s role as a force for good and its contribution to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The first ever Beyond Sport UK Forum will take a fresh look at sport as a driver for both social good and business success. The event will highlight in particular the ways that sport can impact Social & Community Development – one of the five positive outcomes of sport outlined in the government’s Sporting Futures strategy. It will showcase the best examples of sport creating positive sustainable social change across cities and local communities in the UK and around the world. Finally, it will explore how unique and unexpected partnerships across the public, third and corporate sectors are a driving force for such change.

Topics of discussion will include promoting social trust, reducing isolation, bringing people from diverse backgrounds together and integrating migrant communities. The Forum will also explore how the sport industry can align its unique role with business objectives.

“There has never been a more crucial moment as our neighbourhoods, communities and cities face a complex range of challenges and societal pressures. Sport can play a vital role and it’s an exciting proposition to finally have the industry and key stakeholders in sport together and collaborating,” stated Nick Keller, President and Founder of Beyond Sport. “Beyond Sport UK in partnership with Sport England will galvanise key industry leaders, seek innovative solutions and foster creative partnerships. More recently we have seen what positive impact sport can have and now it is time for sport to fulfil its promise to all and help create more sustainable, integrated and peaceful communities.”

Tim Hollingsworth, Chief Executive, Sport England said: “Sport plays an increasingly powerful role in addressing social issues, uniting local communities and helping individuals thrive. But we believe its full potential to improve lives, build stronger communities and create a healthier happier nation is not being fully realised. This event is about bringing together some ‘unusual suspects’ from the worlds of business, sport, the third sector and government that can all have a role to play in furthering sport’s impact on society. Our aim is better to leverage our collective impact, do better, move faster and in doing so help to address the pressing issues people in our communities are challenged with.”

ENDS

For the media: For further information or to register your interest in attendance, please contact:

Beyond Sport: Nik Pollinger, Wide PR, nik[at]widepr.co.uk, +44 (0) 20 3289 9671

Sport England: Ochuko Adekoya, ochuko.adekoya[at]sportengland.org, +44 (0) 20 7273 1889


Notes to Editors

1. About Beyond Sport
Beyond Sport is the leading global force for sustainable social change through sport. The organization achieves this by convening, supporting and advising leaders from the worlds of sport, business, government and development on how sport can be used as a tool to achieve both social and business objectives, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. With its robust global connections and experience and expertise built up over more than a decade, Beyond Sport has the ability to see how diverse sectors can effectively work together to accelerate positive social change through sport – and the platforms to bring them together. beyondsport.org

2. About Sport England
Sport England is a public body which invests up to £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport. It wants everyone in England, regardless of age, background, or level of ability, to feel able to engage in sport and physical activity. That’s why a lot of its work is specifically focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active - like women, disabled people and people on lower incomes.sportengland.org

3. About The Football Association
The FA is the not-for-profit, governing body of football in England which reinvests over £180m back into the game each year. It grows participation, promotes diversity and regulates the sport for everyone to enjoy. Twelve million players of all ages, approximately 400,000 volunteers, over 200,000 coaches all qualified within the last decade, and over 27,000 qualified referees help. The FA keeps the grassroots game going. The FA also runs 28 England teams across men’s, women’s, youth and disability football, utilising the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and its elite development centre, St. George’s Park. Football is the nation’s favourite game. thefa.com

4. About UK Sport
UK Sport is the nation’s high-performance sports agency. Its vision is to inspire the nation through Olympic and Paralympic success. Primarily this means working with our partner sporting organisations to deliver medals at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. UK Sport’s strategic direction helped British sports and athletes make history at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games by winning more medals post hosting in London 2012, with 67 Olympic and 147 Paralympic medals won. UK Sport has responsibility for activities best delivered at a UK level including: bidding for and staging major sporting events in this country; increasing sporting activity and influence overseas; and promoting sporting conduct, ethics and diversity in society. UK Sport is funded by a mix of Government Exchequer and Lottery income. uksport.gov.uk

5. Sporting Future: A Strategy for An active Nation (December 2015) – UK Government vision for sport concentrating on five key outcomes – physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing, individual development, social and community development and economic development.

6. Sport England’s Towards an Active Nation Strategy 2016 - 2021 (May 2016) – Sets out how Sport England is using public funding and resource allocations to benefit everyone in England.

7. Sport Unites (March 2018) – Mayor of London’s flagship community sports programme.

8. Mayor of London Sport for Stronger Communities (March 2019) - original research and abridged report written by Beyond Sport’s sister agency, thinkBeyond, with the academic review led and written by Loughborough University London.