Olympic leaders call for combined effort to expand the sport for development sector

Sir Clive Woodward and Sir Keith Mills. Hammersmith Park, Shepherd's Bush, London.

Two of the UK's leading sports figures, Sir Keith Mills and Sir Clive Woodward say more needs to be done to ensure that disadvantaged young people are given access to sport, insisting that involvement in sport could have a profound impact on some of the UK's greatest social issues. 

The two men were speaking at an event in West London, where Sir Clive was being unveiled as an ambassador of Sir Keith's 2012 legacy organisation, sported.
  
sported., established by Sir Keith Mills, the Deputy Chairman of LOCOG in 2009, works with thousands of community groups across the UK helping them to deliver sports programmes to young people many of whom face real challenges in their lives. These organisations all use sport as the hook to engage and educate disadvantaged young people enabling them to develop confidence, motivation, personal and social skills which ultimately leads to more positive young people and communities.

"I have seen first-hand just how these groups, like Horn of Africa, who we have visited today, are changing young people's lives right across the UK and we believe there could be as many as ten thousand of these groups who all need support," said Sir Keith Mills.
 
"We (sported.) as an organisation are doing all we can to ensure that these groups remain sustainable and can continue to deliver their important work but much more needs to be done to provide for this sport for development sector, especially if we are to have any impact at all on some of the social issues that this country faces." 

In pledging his support to sported. Sir Clive backed up Sir Keith's statement calling for a greater awareness from government agencies and governing bodies of the sport for development sector and what it can achieve in a social context.

"This is a largely unknown sector of sport in this country but sport for development is probably having a far greater impact on some of the most challenging young people in our socieities than other areas of sport so you have to question why it doesn't receive greater support. I feel honoured to be involved in something that is this powerful and I would encourage all other sports leaders and personalities to do the same."