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£5 Million Drive To Recruit Army Of Sports Coaches

108/07
24 September 2007

A campaign to recruit 10,000 voluntary community sports coaches in 70 of the most deprived areas of the country was launched today by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport James Purnell.

The drive will help build strong communities by getting adults and young people involved in activities in their local area. It will also help increase sport participation and help develop sporting talent.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is to invest £5 million over three years in the recruitment campaign that will be delivered by sports coach UK, Sport England and sports national governing bodies from April 2008.

Ten thousand coaches will deliver more than three million extra coaching hours in an array of sports – from football to basketball, rugby to tennis.  It is the first phase of the Government’s strategy to overhaul the quality and quantity of sports coaching in this country.

Purnell wants more adults to get up off the sofa and take up the challenge in a move that will not only benefit young people’s health and fitness but their own.

James Purnell said:  

“Coaches have a crucial role to play in getting young people into sport, getting them fit and active and developing sporting talent. But the coaches also benefit – gaining new skills and being a role model in their local community. This is why I am leading this campaign to get more people into coaching. I want to see a mums’ and dads’ army of sports coaches in this country.”

Sport England chief executive Jennie Price said:

“We know good coaches are as vital for ordinary participants as for elite athletes. Coaches can help halt the traditional drop-off in participation of school leavers by making sport fun and enthusing people to stay involved. Sport England has developed 3000 community coaches since 2002 and we look forward to building on this work with sports coach UK and the Government.”

sports coach UK chief executive Pat Duffy said: 

“sports coach UK welcomes the recognition of the pivotal role that coaches play within the community. This campaign will form a central part of the implementation of the UK Coaching Framework and its aim to ensure skilled coaches support children, players and athletes at all stages of their development in sport.”

On top of the new coaching campaign Purnell also announced a £1 million investment to expand the StreetGames programme over the next three years.

StreetGames is a national charity set up to improve the provision of sport to young people in disadvantaged communities.  The additional DCMS funding will be spent on extending the programme further across the country, increasing the number of projects from the current 20.

StreetGames chief executive Jane Ashworth said:

"This additional funding of over £1 million will make a significant impact on the provision of sport for young people in some of the most deprived areas of the country. Often these areas are lacking in sporting opportunities but StreetGames can address this, help build stronger communities and change the lives of even more young people through sport."

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 Notes to Editors

  • On top of the Government investment of £5 million it is hoped that funding for the coaching campaign will be matched by sponsorship from the private sector. The funding will provide national and local partners, including Sport England, sports coach UK and sports governing bodies with the ability to recruit volunteers into coaching and link them to schools, Further Education colleges and clubs.
  • The DCMS and Department for Children, School and Families aim to offer all children five hours of quality sports provision a week, through a combination of the curriculum and out of school activities, by 2010.
  • Sport England exists to sustain and increase participation in community sport. It is a non-departmental public body and Lottery distributor. Its ambition is to get two million people participating more in sport by 2012.
  • sports coach UK is a charitable organisation, jointly funded by Sport England and UK Sport, and is the lead agency charged with the development and implementation of the UK coaching system.
  • The UK Coaching Framework will put in place a structure to create an ethical, inclusive and valued coaching system where skilled coaches support children, players and athletes at all stages of their development in sport, and which is number one in the world by 2016.
  • StreetGames is a national charity funded by the Football Foundation, Sport England, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. StreetGames aims to take sport into the heart of deprived communities and targets young people not currently involved in sports clubs. DCMS is to invest £350,000 a year into StreetGames over the next three years.

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