What We Do & Why

Gaining a Sports Leaders UK award or qualification can be a lifechanging experience. For some of the 150,000 who qualify each year, it is their first experience of responsibility; the first time they have been listened to, the first time they have gained an idea of their own worth, their personal skills and potential.

Since it was founded in 1982, Sports Leaders UK have typically delivered awards and qualifications through formal curriculum - schools, colleges and universities - but the urgent need for the skills and opportunities the courses deliver is in the community, not just in the classroom.

Creation of the Sports Leaders UK Foundation recognised this need to reach out into the community and deliver a powerful contribution to the process of social inclusion. A commitment to community volunteering is an integral part of all Sports Leaders UK awards and qualifications, making sports leadership a lifetime commitment for many.

The Sports Leaders UK portfolio contains 13 awards and qualifications; they form a range of leadership training and involvement with sport, dance and physical activity that match requirements of all ages for sport, for education and for employment. The Sports Leaders UK Foundation will build on this base of success that has been seen more than a million people gain awards and qualifications to date. The Foundation will expand the charitable purpose of Sports Leaders UK by direct investment; building the capacity for community based sport and physical activity opportunities through a network of community Sports Leaders.

Experience of sports leadership in schools, colleges and universities shows significant improvements in behaviour, attendance, and in academic performance. In prisons, young offending units and a variety of youth and community organisations, sports leadership has been shown to work in the fight against crime, anti-social behaviour and drug abuse. For many young people, a leadership role in short gives them recognition, a sense of self-worth and empowerment not otherwise available to them.

Sports Leaders UK works through over 3,500 accredited delivery centres and trains in excess of 2,500 tutors each year. The Sports Leaders UK Foundation will open many of these centres to the community, fund new delivery centres, build on partnerships with other organisations, and mobilise a workforce of Sports Leaders across the UK.

Sports Leaders UK is an independent charity, funded by income from sales of educational materials, grants for project delivery, commercial partnerships and individual generosity.

Sports Leaders UK is the operating name of the British Sports Trust, Registered Charity No: 1095326.