Changing the face of Leicestershire Sport

After a successful pilot programme last year Active Together and Sporting Equals are delivering a programme to diversify the boardrooms of sport in Leicestershire and Rutland. Beginning with day one 'Diversity & Inclusion in Leicestershire and Rutland Sport Today' this week, hosted at the NSPCC National Training Centre in Leicester, the course will empower 23 pioneers of change to diversify the local sporting landscape.

LeaderBoard is delivered by UK race equality charity Sporting Equals and over the course of the programme, participants are trained in a variety of areas to allow them to influence the direction of travel in leadership across sport. LeaderBoard gives participants the toolkit, language and expertise to represent ethnically diverse communities through their lived experiences.

The aim of LeaderBoard is to advance race equality across sport. Participants will have empathy and understanding of barriers encountered by ethnically diverse communities in sport and, empowered by LeaderBoard, will be able to help remove those barriers.

Topics covered in the three-day programme include, "Diversity & Inclusion in Leicestershire and Rutland Sport Today", "Developing Effective Local Leadership" and "The Journey". The participants will also hear from several influential speakers such as former professional footballer Dr Paul Campbell who is now a professor at The University of Leicester and Sporting Equals CEO, Arun Kang OBE.

The delivery of LeaderBoard by Active Together and Sporting Equals is part of the journey for Leicestershire and Rutland sport to be more racially inclusive and through a strategic plan, the partnership is delivering systemic change.

This year's cohort is 23 strong and represents a spectrum of Leicestershire's sporting community. The gender split is 83% women, 17% men. Their ethnic heritage includes Indian, Pakistani, Black African and Mixed.

Arun Kang OBE, CEO of Sporting Equals: "The launch of Leicestershire and Rutland LeaderBoard is a significant milestone in the journey of Active Partnerships to be more racially inclusive. Through the lived experiences represented by our cohort, change will come at a community level. I applaud Active Together and the local community who are engaging so positively with this opportunity."

Follow the Active Together partner social media channels for LeaderBoard updates over the coming months. Active Together partner channels: Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram