Climate in sport: Sport England says grassroots clubs can change a country

Grassroots clubs have the potential to ‘change the country’ and tackle the persistent problem of extreme weather making it harder to be physically active, according to Sport England.

The latest figures from the funding agency show that almost two-thirds of adults and children are doing less activity as a result of extreme weather over the past 12 months.

Since 2023, £47.5 million in funding has been made available to help sports clubs become more sustainable and adapt to climate disruption.

Chris Boardman, chairman of Sport England, told BBC Sport: “We know that 120,000 football matches were canceled at grassroots level last year, simply because stadiums were flooded. This problem is real, and our problem is our ability to adapt.”

Physical inactivity is linked to one in six deaths in the UK, according to government data.

“It’s absolutely huge for the community,” Boardman adds.

“Whether financially, whether in terms of the economy or people’s quality of life. And a lot of that is exacerbated by the extreme weather that we know is getting worse.”

A recent report from the Met Office warned that extreme weather events are the ‘new normal’ for the UK.

Many clubs have already adopted a climate impact action plan.

Manchester’s Whalley Range Cricket Club has planted native trees outside the boundary cord to better absorb excess water caused by flooding, while Oxford Harlequins RFC have secured a £15,000 grant from Sport England to boost the resilience of their surroundings, ensuring players can continue playing rugby despite the weather. Cruel.

“People have to believe there is something they can do,” Boardman said. “The beauty of sports is that there are 150,000 local clubs and community groups spread across the country.”

“If they all take small actions it adds up into real change. That’s the greatest power.”

Sport England is also announcing the introduction of a new sustainability assessment system to help organizations track their progress and move from “start-up” status to “sustainable” and ultimately to “renewal” status.

National governing bodies are already required to have “strong” sustainability strategies by 2027 “as a condition of their funding”.