Recommendation 19

We asked Sport England how it can spark activity among the least active. It told us the answer was a combination of three key characteristics: motivation, confidence and opportunity. It noted that in the past government had over-relied on opportunity side, with a focus on building facilities and opening up clubs, assuming that people will then take up that provision. Sport England told us its new 2021 strategy had started to look at how to build people’s confidence and motivation to participate in sport by showing the public the benefits of being active and that “people like them” can take part. Sport England said it intended to work within local communities to ensure initiatives were delivered through providers that were recognised and trusted in that community, because not everyone trusted a top-down programme from central government.31 However, when pressed, Sport England struggled to provide a tangible example of putting its motivation theory into practice.32 Sport England’s targeting of spending at the least active