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

Grassroots clubs have the power to “change the country” and address the on-going issue of extreme weather making it more difficult to be physically active, according to Sport England.

The latest figures from the funding agency shows nearly two-thirds of adults and children are doing less activity as a result of extreme weather in the past 12 months.

Since 2023, £47.5m worth funding has been made available to help sports clubs become more sustainable and adapt to climate-driven disruption.

“We know that 120,000 grassroots football matches were called off last year, simply because of flooded pitches. This problem is real, and our problem is our own adaptability,” Sport England’s chair Chris Boardman told BBC Sport.

Physical inactivity associated with one in six deaths in the UK, according to Government data.

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

“Both in financial terms, for the economy and people’s quality of life. A lot of that is exacerbated by extreme weather which we know is just getting worse.”

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

Many clubs have already adopted an action plan as a result of climate impact.

Whalley Range Cricket Club in Manchester have planted native trees beyond the boundary rope to better soak up excess water caused by flooding, while Oxford Harlequins RFC were awarded a £15,000 grant from Sport England to enhance the resilience of their surroundings, ensuring players can continue playing rugby despite extreme weather.

Boardman said: “People have to believe that there’s something that they can do. And the beauty of sport is that there’s 150,000 local clubs and community groups spread across the country.

“If all of them take small actions then that aggregates into real change. That’s the superpower.”

Sport England is also announcing the introduction of a new Sustainability Rating System to help organisations track their progress and get from a ‘starting’ state, through a ‘sustainable’ phase and ultimately to a ‘regenerative’ position.

National governing bodies are already required to have ‘robust’ sustainability strategies in place by 2027 ‘as a condition of their funding’.