Playing to win – a new era for sport
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10 June 2008
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Burnham, and Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe today set out their vision for sport in a speech to national governing bodies at Lords cricket ground today.
The Government also published a new document setting out their vision for the sport in England. “Playing to win – a new era for sport” sets out the Government’s ambition to become a truly world leading sporting nation, capitalising on the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
It follows the announcement on Friday 6th June of plans to provide free swimming for over 60's and many under 16's as part of the Olympic legacy.
A copy of the speech and pamphlet are available here.
The moves have been widely welcomed by sports bodies.
FA Chief Executive Brian Barwick said:
“Sport England’s new direction is good news for grassroots sport. Sport is a real passion in this country and there is a lot to be done to capitalise on that passion. We have recently launched our own FA Vision for the next four years and the ambitions fit well together – more and better players, improved facilities and running the game effectively all feature in both strategies. We now have to work together with Sport England to deliver the results and I am confident we can do that.”
David Collier, the ECB chief executive added:
‘We warmly welcome the division between sport and physical activity and today's Government statement and cross departmental commitment to sport.
‘ECB invests 20 per cent of its income in grass roots sport and has a Governance structure to immediately deliver on the Governments challenge. Assuming matched funding is made available to provide the facilities to underpin the exciting plans for the expansion of participation ECB believes that the partnership between government and the National Governing Bodies can make a step change to the health of the nation.’
The Rugby Football Union's Chief Executive, Francis Baron, said:
"We are wholly supportive and particularly welcome the new clarity of roles which will facilitate the working partnership between Sport England and sports National Governing Bodies. Empowering governing bodies, and giving them more responsibility is a positive step. As they have specific knowledge about needs and resources, this will enable them to help ensure resources reach the right people. We recognise that with responsibility comes accountability and we look forward to working closely with Sport England to create a world-class sports system."
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