Uniting the Movement

Active Together is among the first group of over 40 organisations working in partnership with Sport England to receive funding from its new funding model.

Active Together has a key role in the sport and physical activity sector and is therefore well placed to help level up access to sport and physical activity across the country.

Active Together will receive an investment of £2.9 million of government and National Lottery funding from Sport England. Active Together has been awarded 5 years of long-term funding because it has committed to co-deliver change at a national and local level, to help more people enjoy the benefits of playing sport and being active.

All partner organisations were selected by Sport England due to their ability to influence positive change and improvement throughout the sector, their own networks, and beyond. This is the first step on a journey to revolutionise Sport England's approach to long-term partnerships which will see it build new relationships with innovative organisations, as well with existing partners, local partners and delivery partners to further the Uniting the Movement strategy.

Sport England research shows that some groups are typically less active – like women, people with long-term health conditions, disabled people, people from ethnically diverse communities and lower socio-economic groups. Right now, the opportunities to get involved in sport and activity – and reap the rewards of being active – depend too much on your background, your gender, your bank balance and your postcode.

Active Together will use this investment to address the inequalities for many of our communities that limit access to physical activity and sport. Working with our Partners, we have identified 10 priority areas which we will address to ensure that our People, Places and Partners are focusing on reducing inequality and increasing levels of physical activity. Simply put, we want all of our communities to access and benefit from all that physical activity and sport has to offer.

Over £193 million is being invested for this first group, with the 43 partners including Active Together receiving funding for up to five years. This new funding model from Sport England provides longer-term financial security as organisations recover and reinvent from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said: "Sport England's Uniting the Movement strategy aims to help everyone play sport and get active– no matter who they are, where they live, or what their background. But we know that certain groups are more likely to be inactive and need targeted support and investment. We can only innovate and tackle these inequalities effectively with collective action, recognising that this is about long-term change. Active Together is one of a huge number of partners we are looking to work with on exactly this over the coming years. They play a foundational role within the sport and physical activity sector and are therefore well-placed to create the conditions for change. They will also act as a resource for other innovative organisations with the same goals as we seek to create a more equal society with everyone benefitting from sport and physical activity."

Bev Smith, Chair of Active Together, said: "We are delighted to be one of the first partners to secure funding from Sport England and the National Lottery to support our local work. This will help us address the inequalities that continue to limit our communities access to physical activity and sport. We recognise that more people need to be accessing and gaining the health benefits that physical activity and sport can bring and of course it can play a key role in helping our communities better connect".