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We are seeing an increase in delivery of programmes across the world to introduce sport to communities and better lives.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sport England showed that there was a distinct increase in activity levels for women, older people and those with disabilities or long-term health conditions. This increase is amazing to acknowledge, but are we wrong to want more?

Now is the time to see more intentionally-led action to break down divides and provide an inclusive environment for women, of all backgrounds.

This year’s International Women’s Day is themed around #ChooseToChallenge, so let’s not just spend time congratulating progress for the mainstream majority, let’s challenge it and strive for further greatness.

The landscape

The great Billie-Jean King is currently championing the #EntitlementGap, suggesting that women are so pre-conditioned to discriminatory processes, institutions and individuals, that even a nod or nudge towards some sort of progress is deemed acceptable. She says we should ask for more – and she is absolutely right.

In 1900, the Paris Olympic Games saw 22 women compete on the main stage for the first time – but there were limitations in terms of perceptions over physiology of women and ultimately they were ‘pigeonholed’ towards less physically demanding versions of male sports.

Over the years we have asked for more, but it has taken over a century for anything like parity to be seen, and we’re still so far away. We can’t wait another century; we need to create an environment where future generations are equal to their male counterparts.

Right to challenge

Even for those of us who live and breathe sport, we recognise that sport isn’t:

A) A magic fix that you engage with and become a better human
B) For everyone

What is fundamental, however, is that everyone has the right to move, be active, have opportunities for recreation or play and that, yes, sport, is for everyone regardless of gender.

Sadly, not all women are able to exercise this right. Sport England suggests that over 300,000 fewer women than men are regularly active, citing fear of judgement, lacking confidence and time as the barriers.

When sport is intentionally deployed on a bedrock of brilliant programming, engaging coaches, and safe environments, it is in a real position to change lives.

So, what’s my beef? Institutionally, and individually, we all need to do more to give more women, in more shades, with different abilities, access to their right to move and to reap the physical, mental, social and emotional benefits of doing so.

We’ve seen what happens when individuals do step up and ask for more of themselves. Just look at the great work of Ebony Rainford-Brent (pictured above) and her African-Caribbean Engagement programme, ACE. It’s clear that, in a lot of ways, programmes like this are being better designed to make progress and create accessible opportunities that are intentional in how they are delivered, to whom and how.

In Rainford-Brent’s case she’s targeting Black African communities here in the UK and has a purpose that is close to her heart. Equally, in challenging media institutions to do more, we can look to the quartet of American Olympians who, fed up with the lower levels of coverage, investment and exposure of women’s sport, set up a media and commerce company designed to elevate women’s voices.

Our responsibility

In both of the above examples, people of colour are part of the solution and part of the change. And until our institutions have decision makers that look like our communities, the change we’ll see in the gender gap will remain a predominantly single colour change, and so it seems that equitable change can only come from individuals. But it shouldn’t be one or the other. It’s both.

There’s no silver bullet solution, but everyone needs to play their part and has a responsibility. My responsibility as a South Asian woman is to do my part and show what’s possible and to challenge where I feel challenge should be. I need to understand my own privilege as much as much as I do the level of discrimination that I have faced.

Growing up, I was lucky as my father loved sport and I went to a tiny village state school that recognised the importance of sport. I had a brilliant male PE teacher who saw my passion for sport and a work ethic that was enough to cover the talent-deficit. As a result, I played every sport going and had great experiences. I was lucky to be in that school, in a sport-centric environment for both genders. That’s not the case for everyone – it’s not how the system was designed.

I was 15 or 16 years old until I played sport against another Indian girl, and she was from a county more than 100 miles away. This highlighted for me the stark lack of access for South Asian women. I was fortunate, as was she I expect, but so many missed out.

Looking at where I am now, I can sadly count on one hand the number of Indian women leading in my industry. People celebrate the number of women on FTSE boards surpassing this magic 30 per cent mark – but it needs to be so much more than just a number and representing women – it’s about how we change the narrative and our approaches.

The Solution

Whilst there is a steady increase in opportunities for, particularly, young people, there is still a lack of strategic direction applied to create inclusive sport and activity for all backgrounds and genders. We can’t keep rolling out the power of sport to change lives unless we are intentional about how we fund, promote, design and use it; and that means change. A change in what we value and how those values are reflected in the systems and institutions that continue to oppress. 

When I worked in soccer, it was deemed acceptable for white men to make throw-away comments about women in football. And I didn’t feel safe enough to challenge them. I wasn’t brave enough to challenge them. I still had a sense of gratitude that I was at the table, even though I didn’t really have a plate. I didn’t ask for more of myself or from them. I regret that, and I won’t miss the opportunity to challenge again.

Programmes on the ground will make a difference, but only in time. When designing programmes to give back to communities, there is often talk around ethnic minorities or groups – but rarely a deep dive into these groups. When we talk about diversity and inclusion, don’t refer to everyone as the same person, and don’t assume their barriers are the same as all other ‘minority’ groups. If we truly value diversity and inclusion, then we need to be intentional about our actions as much as our words.

These ‘broader’ and less intentional approaches to ‘delivering good through sport’ are flawed and there are significant gaps, meaning that so many young women and ethnicities are missing out.

Work needs to be done, so let’s #ChooseToChallenge brands, organisations and those with influence to provide increased access and opportunities for women in targeted ethnic groups and communities to not only experience sport but develop life-changing skills. And let’s challenge ourselves to ask for more, and not settle for the crumbs from the table, we all need a plate.

The influence and social media reach of sports women and men is incredible – and growing. But who is using it to greatest effect, both for their own benefit and that of society?

Cristiano Ronaldo has 263m followers on Instagram and Lionel Messi has over 100m on Facebook. Manchester United, widely regarded as the biggest global sporting brand, has a mere 39.2m followers in comparison on Instagram. 

For sports organisations, there’s a clear message: your athletes are still your greatest ambassadors. But athletes and organisations alike need a shared authentic social purpose to thrive commercially now and in the future.

It needs to feel like more than a PR exercise, with real depth, meaning and most importantly impact. When done right, social impact strategies and increased revenue can be directly linked.

Last month Nielsen published a study stating that “the sponsor media value generated by athlete advocacy posts on social could grow to as much as US$1.2bn by 2023.” 

The report was able to quantify that athlete advocacy posts generate 63 per cent more engagement for brands.

Thankfully, there is a distinct upward trend in businesses ‘doing good’ and giving back to society in one way or another. 

Moreover, there is a clear shift from that being a nice-to-do to a must-do. 

Increasingly, brands and sports organisations are coming forward and looking to develop measurable strategies that benefit both society and stakeholder. 

Gradually we are seeing project teams shift from the PR team, to the CSR team, and now mainstream operations team. 

Essentially, doing good is becoming part of doing business.

We are heading in the right direction. But so much more can be done, and the potential is colossal. 

Those who do it well can look to gain far more from sponsorship – 11 per cent more, according to the Nielsen report. 

That must surely help win boardroom support over and above the fact that improving the world is a ‘good’ thing.

While things are looking up, a business finding a wider purpose and creating a strategy around how they benefit society is too often surface deep; one for Public Relations not Public Benefit. 

Consumers now want to see authentic work with real meaning, passion and legitimacy.

In the sports world, rights holders and athletes are coming under pressure to deliver social impact from the funders like Sport England and UK Sport and, increasingly, brands too. 

We’ve all seen the effect that Marcus Rashford has had on a cause very close to his heart. 

But pretty much every athlete has an interesting backstory of hard work and overcoming adversity to get to the top. 

It’s imperative for rights holders and brands to dive deeper into these athletes and understand their passions, beliefs, desire and ability to help society, and match that up to their own organisational objectives. 

The overall message is clear: to be optimally successful commercially, every sports brand and athlete needs to find how they can help society – and, most importantly, do it with impact, authenticity, and heartfelt enthusiasm.

Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open on mental health grounds should come as a surprise to no one, given the conversation around the wellbeing of elite athletes. 

The four-times grand slam winner may be one of the more reserved tennis players on the women’s circuit, so to speak openly about her depression and anxiety takes enormous courage.

However, when you consider the reaction to Osaka’s decision, including threats to bar the 23-year-old from future tournaments if she refuses to talk to the press, it’s clear that the conversation around mental health is falling on deaf ears.

There’s no question that media coverage is important to the popularity and commercial appeal of the sport. After all, the investment the tennis slams receive from broadcasters and event sponsors puts them among the world’s most lucrative sporting events.

Osaka has an estimated $25m net worth and ranked in the top 30 highest-paid athletes in 2021. Although the majority of her earnings were made on the court, her endorsement deals with the likes of Nike, Louis Vuitton, and Mastercard make her one of the most marketable athletes of her generation.

Ask yourself, then, how sponsors can serve their clients in raising the conversation around mental health. While Osaka uses her profile to bring awareness to equality issues, including the Black Lives Matter movement, isn’t it as much the sponsor’s role to protect and support the athlete’s right to good mental health?

What if sport’s biggest brands were to back their talent in the same way that Nike has backed Osaka for withdrawing from Roland Garros? Surely this would raise the importance of mental health and allowing people to afford themselves some breathing space.

How does public profile affect mental health?

According to a recent study carried out by Nielsen, athletes who adopt an authentic social media strategy are likely to increase their sponsorship by 11 per cent. Moreover, athlete advocacy posts on social media generate 63 per cent more engagement for their sponsors.

What this also tells us is that, in 2021, more athletes own a powerful voice and reach audiences stretching into their billions. While athletes leverage their digital channels to build their own personal brands, their status also helps to grow fan loyalty for their sport and sponsors.

According to data published by SportsPro, the 50 most-marketed brands in sport in 2020 received a combined sponsorship value worth more than $3bn via social media. However, while social media presents a persuasive marketing tool, athletes continue to be exposed, inexplicably, to online abuse, further exacerbating the emotional strain they endure.

Consider, then, that at least 50 per cent of elite athletes say that they have experienced a mental health issue during their lifetime. Should we not also be asking ourselves how the public profile impacts an athlete’s wellbeing?

During my own career, I have had the chance to facilitate these discussions. Most recently, I moderated a panel with athletes including former NFL Pro-Bowler Brian Dawkins, Olympic gold medallist Helen Richardson-Walsh, and former footballer Clarke Carlisle. I also hosted a documentary with EuroLeague Basketball which spoke directly to the issues of mental health among its athletes.

These conversations are important for everyone. In the case of Naomi Osaka, it would be tennis’s loss if she decided to walk away from the sport because she didn’t get support. With this in mind, sponsors and sports must do more to protect the mental health of athletes.

The impact Covid-19 has had on communities has been devastating. Unity and community togetherness have been affected, people have experienced hurt and suffering while so many lives have been lost.

Thankfully, the talk of vaccinations and improved testing is delivering hope of return to ‘normal’, or at least the much-vaunted ‘new normal’. Conversations are shifting to rebuilding and how countries bounce back. One of the undervalued tools to success of this rejuvenation is, without a doubt, sport. But are decision makers appreciating sport’s potential, and is the industry presenting itself in the right way?

When I clumsily refer to ‘sport’, I’m talking about everything from professional sport, to grassroots community sport, to sessions at the gym, right through to hopping on your bike for a half hour spin and everything in between. We all witness the power of elite sport to unite communities through the flag-waving euphoria supporting our Olympic and Paralympic heroes. Or the misplaced optimism before every major international football tournament (‘this time it’ll be different…’).

Whilst all sports, at all levels, have been impeded by Covid to some degree, it is important to recognise the unique and widespread potential for sport to drive our recovery.

But what of sport’s wider role?

Rightly, a lot has been made of the importance of the sport and fitness industries for their contribution to physical and mental health, especially for young people. But what else?

What about sport’s ability to unite society across cultural and age divides and rebuild a sense of community; the intangible that has been in decline for decades?

Not forgetting its economic value. Not just the direct value of the sports industry, but the massive value of a fit and healthy workforce.

Or even its role in creating a ‘greener’ world, either indirectly using sport’s unique power to inspire people to change their wasteful ways, or even through powering a green transport revolution? Imagine a world where the majority of trips were made under people’s own steam, by foot or by bike. We all witnessed and appreciated the lower levels of traffic in the first lockdown, but what if it was always like that? Consider the physical health benefits alone, let alone the improvements in air quality and CO2 emissions.

Why is sport so important for communities?

The social and economic value of grassroots football for adults, in England alone, has been calculated at £10.8bn per year. Social outcomes for participants include higher general health levels and improved self-confidence. London Sport research found that for every pound invested in sport and physical activity in London, £1.48 worth of social value is generated for individuals and society.

Sport and physical activity are crucial tools for reducing symptoms of depression, as well as helping with feelings of isolation and anxiety.

During the pandemic, mental health has been severely impacted with the number of adults showing signs of depression doubling since before the pandemic and a report from The Lancet found that the increase in probable mental health problems reported in adults also affected 5–16 year-olds in England.

Ultimately, sport can help us:

• Unite generations, backgrounds and offer support to some of the most vulnerable people, giving them a platform and opportunities to develop
• Support health and well-being, through increased exercise and togetherness
• Strengthen mental, physical, social, and emotional resilience

How has the virus impacted sport, and can it bounce back?

Sport, like all industries, has taken a huge hit during the Coronavirus pandemic. Elite sport was paused, community activations were cancelled, and the world shut down.

The decrease in levels of activity have seen a direct impact to measures of personal well-being. Public Health England’s mental health and well-being surveillance report found that self-reported mental health and well-being worsened during the first national lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological distress, anxiety and depressive symptoms peaked in 2020.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises that sport and physical activity have a direct benefit for “hearts, bodies and minds”, whilst “physical activity reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety.

This highlights the need for the return of sport, the power of it and the importance of changing approaches to ensure sport is deliverable despite the challenges.

Throughout, we have seen some organisations have to pause all activity, whilst others were able to adapt their activities to suit an online world. This has been extremely challenging in areas where there is limited or no internet access, or individuals not able to access basic hardware to access the internet.

Despite all of these enormous obstacles to have to work through, we have seen huge amounts of creativity from the world of sport, to ensure that they can still support some of the world’s most vulnerable individuals in some way.

It’s about thriving, rather than surviving. This is how sport will bounce back.

Making it happen

The massive potential social impact of sport is clear. But it won’t happen without a concerted effort.

Sports organisations, decision makers and business leaders across the globe ultimately each have a hugely important role to play, and immense responsibility to support and deliver the recovery of communities, utilising sport.

The sport sector needs to adapt to stay relevant. Humans have a tendency of quickly forgetting and returning to the old habits. Sport needs to work fast to innovate and agree on how it should ‘look’ to meet the quickly evolving needs of the public, demonstrate its multi-dimensional benefits and unite forcefully behind that message. Sometimes the speed of movement is more important than the direction itself, and this feels like one of those times.

Businesses should consider their own contribution, ranging from reviewing how it can be woven into their mainstream business goals; how their purpose-driven investment strategies can align; right through to their employee well-being policies.

But crucially, policy makers need to appreciate the wider value of sport. Both the outcomes that can be easily measured as well as those that are more challenging to quantify. To harness the full benefits, the ‘new normal’ needs be designed around sport, not the other way around, and ensure it is woven into every policy from town planning to taxation.

The post-Covid world can be bright with sport at the core, but we need to make a conscious effort to get there…

Mieke Evans

Often we see established brands incorporate ‘good’ into their corporate strategies, which is great to see and of huge significance. There is immense pressure for brands to deliver social impact in their daily operations, but this should be more than a PR exercise, it needs to be genuine and built in from the core of the organisation.

Today’s customers, and Millennials and Gen Z specifically, now have an expectation for businesses to have stances on social or political issues. A report highlighted that, doing nothing purposeful with your work will leave you tailing behind and open to criticism.

But wouldn’t it be easier if ‘doing good’ was more than just a bolt on, and a brand kicked-off with purpose from the get-go? It’s crucial for brands to figure out their purpose from the offset. As a new brand you have a unique opportunity to embed your purpose from the beginning. You can do that, by asking yourself these important questions:

1. What do you want to be known for in years to come?
2. What’s important to you, your team and crucially, your customers?
3. What local, regional or national issues exist within the areas you operate and how do you think can help overcome these?
4. Are there personal stories of interest within your team that you want to raise awareness of, like inequality, mental health, exclusion? If so, how might these help drive positive change?
5. What can you do within your products and services to have a positive difference on society? e.g. using less water when creating products or only working with suppliers who support similar values to you

Teamwork makes the dreamwork

Once you have answered the above questions, you can then develop your organisational values – but the key is to take on a collaborative approach, with your team, to help you understand what you stand for, your purpose and what positive impact you can have on your communities.

Once you have, these values should be integrated into how you operate, from recruitment to retention, and your day-to-day operations.

Authenticity is key. So, ask your team what they want, what change they want to see and how they can support. This enables you the chance to create a culture of openness and transparency, so your team feel safe to speak up, particularly if the issues you are trying to combat have personal connections to them. Ask the senior team to also speak up; a CEO sharing their personal story of a challenge is a powerful message to show that vulnerability is OK and often, others follow suit.

Keep it simple

Don’t complicate matters. Give it the time and consideration it deserves.

Pick one or two things that really stand out, and that you know you can commit to investing time, money and resources into over several years to really make change. These things will have come from your collaboration and thoughts prior to this step.

Remember that there are so many issues out there in the world and you can’t fix them all.

You may have lots of ideas for your purpose but work tirelessly to strip it back and really figure out what you want to focus your efforts on and then make a plan for how you can continually bring this to life.

Doing it, and doing it right, can result in huge financial reward for any business, too. A Neilson report found that those who do it well can look to gain far more from sponsorship, 11% more, which must surely help win boardroom support over and above the fact it’s ‘good to improve the world’.

The Journey

The journey is as important as the destination. Depending on what you’re trying to achieve, it could take several years, or longer to achieve lasting impact. The process you go through is an important part of it as your organisation may well need to change internally before you can begin to make an impact externally.

The world is constantly in a period of flux, it’s unpredictable and ‘doing good’ can lead an organisation to having to be flexible around the needs of their team, customers, and all stakeholders.

As a business, you have a crucial role to play in supporting some of the world’s most complex issues, in and around your communities. Companies must go above and beyond just making statements, to actually making positive and lasting impact.

Pete Fitzboydon

Now, more than ever, being a responsible business matters.

The support that companies have offered during the pandemic to their employees, the public and those most vulnerable speaks volumes. Those who acted responsibly are best positioned to flourish on the other side of this crisis. 

There is a growing obligation for businesses to incorporate supporting communities into their business plans. 

Why? Because humanity has become more in tune with our individual and collective responsibility to the planet and its communities, undoubtedly accelerated by the pandemic. Businesses are no different. What a business stands for – its values, its integrity, its authenticity, and therefore its connection to the people and communities they serve – has become inseparable from their brand image.

COVID-19 has accelerated the erosion of trust around the world. There is a global crisis of leadership, epidemic of misinformation and widespread mistrust of societal institutions and leaders around the world. Edleman’s study showed that businesses are trusted and when government is perceived as being absent, people expect business to step in, and address and solve today’s challenges.

The stakes are high. How can businesses manage the expectation?

Businesses both have a growing responsibility to show to their customers that what they are doing has a clear positive impact on something or someone, and not purely profiting for the benefit of their shareholders. 

Part of this growing responsibility has come to light because of global disasters, the loss of human life because of systemic inequality, or the realisation that we are in a race to protect our planet from irreversible harm. 

It has also stemmed out of the growing demand from customers and the public; for businesses to put social consciousness on a par with profits. 

Sport and physical activity are becoming some of the most popular avenues to deliver social responsibility. Not for the sake of sport per se, but due to its unique abilities to bring about change. Sport is a universal language that can be used to work on systemic issues like racism, social mobility, and poverty with incredible effectiveness. 

How can sport benefit communities?

Sport has enormous power to positively benefit both individuals and the communities. 

At thinkBeyond, we have seen first-hand the power of sport to divert young people away from being involved in gangs and serious youth violence, and instead, into sports programmes. What’s more, these young people themselves become role models within their communities, mentoring other young people away from crime and into a better life they deserve. 

We have seen other examples of former athletes talk about their mental health challenges on topics like self-harm, suicide and depression, and instead use this turmoil to help businesses develop mental health programmes that help millions during COVID-19. 

The potential is endless, limited only my imagination, and thanks to its reach and ability to engage people it can have profoundly positive effects on people and the communities that more traditional interventions simply can’t match.

How can businesses integrate sport for social good into their corporate strategies?

This, of course, will vary from business to business as it depends on their objectives, the type of work they do, and the values under which they operate. 

However, all businesses should start by exploring their values, and using them as a foundation to build a socially good strategy that might work for them. Examine challenges in the communities around you and those you serve, business challenges you are facing and identify ways to utilise sport and its reach to combat those issues.

For example, a business that prides itself in connectivity might want to use sport to bring people from different backgrounds together, to build bridges and social bonds. 

For anyone doubting the significance of why they should do this, there are countless benefits for businesses, including:

•    Brand recognition and reputation are by-products of your social good work. 
•    A greater ability to attract and retain talent because of operating in a socially conscious way. 

In direct response to implementing these strategies, we often see businesses become more creative in their thinking and operations along the way, as well as increases in their profitability. Whilst some businesses might be scared about upfront costs associated with working in a socially conscious way, those that do this work long term absolutely see the financial benefits in the long run. 

Why now?

COVID-19 has presented businesses with challenge after challenge to work through – and at all levels. But what we have also seen is that it has opened up the opportunity to think differently, consider what their businesses are doing and most importantly; how and why. 

Organisations are completely transforming overnight, with many taking a stand on systemic issues like never before. A lot of the time, this change has derived from demand from customers and employees.

The coronavirus pandemic has also exacerbated the mental health and physical activity crisis like never seen before, with 65% of Brits saying that the past 12 months have damaged their mental health. Far too often we see companies hide away from the sensitivities of topics like mental health. But they are so important, and the demand is increasing to get involved. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises that sport and physical activity have a direct benefit for “hearts, bodies and minds”, whilst “physical activity reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety.”  

Sport, health and wellbeing will come back even stronger, and with even more of a spotlight on it, as it continues to prove its worth for people and communities, and that presents unrivalled opportunities for like-minded businesses.