It’s never been more important for sport to be demonstrating what it can contribute to society, according to the new Executive Director of the Sport for Development Coalition.
Hitesh Patel joined the Coalition this week from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) after spending almost two decades working in the UK Civil Service.
He steps into the Coalition hotseat at a crucial time, with a cost-of-living crisis following hard on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic, and with society in urgent need of innovative, cost-effective solutions to tackle deepening health and societal inequalities.
IMPACT
“Now is a really vital moment for sport to showcase what it can contribute to society,” said Hitesh, pictured below. “It goes without saying that the last two years have been really challenging on many fronts and we must work together, as a sector, to respond.
“It’s not just about recovering from Covid-19; we know that families right across the country are struggling, but in its own way, sport can play a role in improving lives and I hope that we, as the Coalition, can make a positive impact.”
Hitesh was speaking at the launch of the ‘Open Goal’ campaign. Open Goal is a shared framework, co-designed by the Coalition’s network of more than 230 charities and organisations, which will showcase the contribution of sport and physical activity to building a fairer, more equitable and sustainable future.
Over the coming months, the campaign will advocate for how sport and physical activity can help save public money and level up communities in the wake of Covid-19 because of the multiple returns on investment that it offers across different areas, such as sustaining mental health and wellbeing, and reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.
Hitesh added: “In terms of engaging with policy-makers, and decision-makers, it’s really important to demonstrate the positive impact that development programmes can have.
“There’s the economic impact and return on investment, but also the wider societal benefits – the impact of physical activity, social activity, tackling inactivity and the longer-term aspects – reducing crime, promoting educational attainment… all of these areas are interlinked and I believe sport is at the heart of that; there is much more we can do as a sector."
REACH
A priority for Hitesh, who spent a large part of his career in the UK Government focusing on sport as Head of International Sport, Major Sports Events and Sports Integrity, will be increasing the impact and reach of the Coalition’s growing UK-wide network.
“We already know that the Coalition has a huge number of partners, ranging from charities to sports bodies,” he said. “It’s going to be important going forward to see if we can grow that family and advocate for the benefits of sport in a range of areas – not just in the world of sport. There are lots of other charities that could potentially do a lot more on the sporting front, so I would like to do more with the Coalition in that space."
Open Goal was officially launched on April 6th – the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace – which coincided with the midway point of the EFL’s Week of Action. It took place at a Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) at Leyton Orient Trust, with Hitesh on hand to witness the East London football club providing free holiday activities and hot food to local young people who during term time would receive free school meals.
He commented: “Sport is the common denominator here, it is a great leveller. Whichever sport you enjoy playing, or whichever club you support, quite often sport is the icebreaker when you meet people for the first time. I think there is more we can do as a nation to realise that untapped potential.
“If you look at the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, sport can play an important role in realising them and so we should showcase what the UK can do to promote the wellbeing aspects of sport.”
Uma Cresswell, Board member of the EFL Trust, and Mark Lawrie, CEO of StreetGames – pictured with Hitesh below – were in attendance to welcome the new Executive Director to the Coalition.
NETWORK
Uma said: “The Coalition is a huge network through which to share best practice, learnings and impact. At the EFL, we are a national organisation but we rely on that local information and need, and it’s taking that learning and thinking about how we can influence policy, investment and further development. Really working together is the only way we can improve these things.”
Leyton Orient Trust works directly with Waltham Forest Council to deliver the HAF scheme, but elsewhere StreetGames helps to lead and co-ordinate Coalition members who are supporting it. The expansion of the scheme to cover the whole of England was originally inspired by the efforts of England footballer Marcus Rashford to secure meals during school holidays for children entitled to free school meals.
Mark said: “If you look at the data since the start of the pandemic, the number of children in England who are eligible for free school meals has gone up by over 400,000 to 1.74million. These are children and young people who are potentially struggling in the holidays, with parents who may be working in multiple jobs and are unable to provide holiday childcare, so this kind of provision – where they can socialise, play, and have a nutritious meal – is absolutely crucial.”
The principle of how a single sport-based intervention can help to support an individual, or community, in multiple ways – and thus decrease the pressure on the public purse – is a key tenet of the Open Goal campaign. HAF is not only supporting young people in getting them physically active and well fed, but also enabling their parents to keep working, and potentially preventing anti-social behaviour.
Mark added: “Some of the data we have in areas like Birmingham shows that HAF provision also improves parents’ confidence in their children being safe. Children are at these sessions with people who are qualified, so parents don’t have to worry about them hanging around the local neighbourhood without having anything to do.”
