StreetGames is pleased to announce the appointment of Nigel Harrison as the new Chair of our board of trustees.

Nigel brings a wealth of experience from a lifelong career in sport and physical activity, including over 24 years as Chief Executive of Yorkshire Sport Foundation – growing the organisation from a one-person operation into a thriving regional partnership.

His career has equipped him with a vast array of knowledge when it comes to shaping national strategies around sport, as well as instilling a deep-rooted passion for the power of sport to transform lives – particularly for those living in under-served communities.

“I’ve always been an advocate for the role sport can play in young people’s lives, especially those facing inequalities and deprivation,” said Nigel, following his official appointment last week. “StreetGames’ purpose is absolutely in the sweet spot of the interest I’ve had over many years.”

Reflecting on the opportunities and challenges of the Chair role, Nigel added:

“It just feels as if StreetGames is set for its next level of growth and impact. Over the next five years, I think we’ve got a real opportunity to further build upon our role as the go-to organisation for work with young people in underserved areas.

“I am really looking forward to building on the excellent work of the outgoing Chair, John Cove, and working alongside such a talented and experienced Board and team.”

StreetGames CEO Mark Lawrie OBE said:

“We are delighted to welcome Nigel to the role of Chair. His extensive experience and deep understanding of the transformative power of sport, especially for young people living in underserved communities, will be instrumental in supporting us as we continue to grow our impact and reach.”

StreetGames has taken an important step forward in its mission to make sport accessible for everyone, officially signing the IWG’s Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration – a globally recognised commitment to equity, inclusion and opportunity for women and girls in sport and physical activity.

The signing took place at a women and girls’ multisport festival held in Rochdale on Saturday 18th October, delivered in partnership with Your Trust and Rochdale Youth Service. The event brought together partners, local organisations, and young females to celebrate this shared commitment to making sport inclusive for all.

The Declaration, first established in 1994 and renewed in 2014, sets out the principles needed to ensure that women and girls have equal opportunities to participate, compete and lead in sport at every level.

For StreetGames, becoming a signatory reaffirms our long-standing commitment to tackling inequality in community sport and ensuring that girls and young women from low-income and underserved communities can benefit from the life-changing power of sport.

Speaking about the announcement, Helen Crowley, Head of Network Support at StreetGames, said:

“At StreetGames, we believe that sport has the power to change lives, but only if everyone has the chance to take part. Signing the Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration underlines our commitment to ensuring that girls and young women from all backgrounds can enjoy, lead and shape sport in their communities.

“It’s not just about taking part – it’s about giving girls the chance to lead, to have their voices heard, and to open doors for others. Real change happens when inclusion is part of everything we do.”

Nigel Harrison, StreetGames’ new Chair, added:

“This is an important moment for StreetGames. As a charity, we’ve seen first-hand the barriers girls face in accessing sport, from confidence and cost to culture and opportunity.

By signing this Declaration, we’re saying loud and clear that gender equity isn’t an optional extra – it’s fundamental to how we deliver sport for development. It’s about giving young women the same chances to play, volunteer, coach and lead, and amplifying their voices at every level.”

Turning commitment into change

StreetGames’ commitment to gender equity builds on years of work to make sport and physical activity accessible to all. Across our network of over 1,600 community partners, we continue to:

• Create inclusive, local opportunities for girls to take part in sport and physical activity through Doorstep Sport and HAF programmes.
• Support young female leaders to grow their confidence and skills through initiatives like Young Advisors, Peer Research, and Youth Leadership programmes.
• Provide training and resources for coaches and volunteers to help remove barriers to participation and challenge inequality.
• Work with partners across the sport, health, and youth sectors to make gender equity a central part of community sport delivery.

Building a more inclusive future

By becoming a signatory of the Brighton Plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration, StreetGames joins a global movement dedicated to transforming the future of sport for women and girls.

Lisa O’Keefe MBE, Secretary General of the International Working Group on Women & Sport (IWG), welcomed StreetGames’ commitment:

“I am delighted to welcome StreetGames as a signatory to the Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration. Their long-standing work to make sport and physical activity more accessible for girls and young women, particularly in underserved communities, perfectly reflects the spirit and purpose of the Declaration.

“StreetGames has shown real leadership in embedding inclusion at the heart of community sport, ensuring that every girl has the opportunity not only to take part but also to lead and shape the future of sport in her community. Their commitment is a powerful example of inclusion in action.

“We are proud to welcome StreetGames and their network as part of the global IWG movement and we look forward to celebrating their impact at the IWG Global Summit on Women and Sport in 2026.”

This week, StreetGames is saying a heartfelt thank you and farewell to John Cove, who is stepping down as Chair of the StreetGames Board after eight years of outstanding leadership and service.

John’s time with StreetGames has been characterised by a deep commitment to the power of sport and its potential to transform young lives. Since his early days as a play/youth worker in North London, John has been deeply dedicated to supporting young people and creating opportunities for them to thrive. That dedication has been a guiding force throughout his career – from his leadership work in local government with Milton Keynes Council, to his voluntary role within the education sector, and being selected as a Sport England Regional Champion for London 2012, to leading a professional football club – and it has been at the heart of his impact at StreetGames.

As Chair, John has played a pivotal role in building and supporting a highly skilled and diverse Board of Trustees. His ability to draw out the strengths of each member and encourage open dialogue has been exemplary. Under his guidance, the Board has given their backing to a wide range of exciting opportunities as well as calmly navigating more challenging periods – not least during the Covid-19 pandemic, when John’s leadership and strategic approach helped to steer the organisation through uncertain times.

John’s breadth of experience across multiple policy areas including play/youth work, education, politics and sport has given him a unique and valuable perspective. His intuitive grasp of the challenges and opportunities in our sector have made him an exceptional Chair, able to lead with both head and heart.

Reflecting on John’s tenure, StreetGames CEO Mark Lawrie OBE said: “If there’s one word that comes to mind regarding John Cove, it’s passion. At StreetGames we have seen this time and time again in two regards in particular: his absolute passion for sport, and for bettering the lives of young people.

“We are deeply grateful for all that he’s brought to StreetGames during his time on the Board. His calm leadership, unique insight and unwavering commitment have been instrumental in shaping our direction and deepening our impact.”

Ahead of his final AGM with the Board, John shared: “As outgoing Chair, I hope that my love of sport has permeated the organisation at every level. I truly believe that our greatest strength is that ‘sport is the beating heart of everything we do’ – not least because it enables us to do so many other things too.

“Adaptability and positive disruption have always been our hallmark at StreetGames. I am confident that whatever challenges arise, those who follow will hold fast to our mission: transforming the lives of young people in low-income communities through sport and physical activity.

“Over the past eight years I’ve worked with many brilliant people, both on the Board and across the staff, all of whom share a common aim. As a result, I know that we’ve helped communities in a way that is the envy of many – and this is something that makes me exceptionally proud.”

As we look to the future, we do so with immense gratitude for John’s contributions and with confidence that his legacy will continue to support our mission for years to come.

Young Advisor Logan is a member of our Youth Advisory Group, set up on behalf of the Children’s Coaching Collaborative to amplify the voices of young people to shape practice in sports coaching. Here, he shares his experience of the group’s first meeting: a three-day residential at Plas y Brenin in the heart of Eryri National Park.

Football legend Gareth Bale continued to inspire the next generation as he stepped up his drive to promote sporting opportunities for young people at the Celtic Manor Resort.

The fourth annual Gareth Bale Festival of Sport took place on Saturday 20th September and saw more than 100 children from some of the most underserved communities in Wales given the chance to try out a wide variety of sports.

Organised in partnership between StreetGames, Celtic Manor, Wales Golf and CAA Sports – with support from the R&A – the festival saw Bale take part in sports including tennis, boxing, basketball, athletics and football as he encouraged youngsters to enjoy the social and well-being benefits of sporting activity.

Bale also took part in Q&A sessions with the young participants, answering questions on the glittering football career which took him to five Champions League titles with Real Madrid and the semi-finals of Euro 2016 as Wales’s record goalscorer.

Bale said: “The Festival of Sport is something I look forward to every year. It’s vital we give young people the chance to try sports for the first time. As a boy, I played every sport I could and I’m sure that helped me to develop as an athlete. That’s why it’s been great to see the smiles on these young athletes’ faces today as they play sports they maybe have never had the chance to try before.”

Rhiannon Sheen de Jesus, Regional Partnership Manager for StreetGames Wales, said: “At StreetGames, we are committed to breaking down barriers and ensuring that all young people, regardless of background, have the opportunity to experience the transformative power of sport. The Gareth Bale Festival of Sport is a perfect example of how we can provide children with the chance to explore a range of sports, helping them find their passion and stay active. This event is also a critical step in our mission to establish year-round, multisport opportunities in underserved communities, opening pathways for young people to grow into volunteers and community leaders.”

UK Sport, in partnership with StreetGames, Liverpool FC Foundation, World Boxing Championships and Lucky Socks Media, has piloted its first content creator school for young people in Liverpool.

Over the past two weeks, the city’s M&S Bank Arena has played host to the World Boxing Championships, with the world’s best female and male boxers taking to the ring.

Thanks to StreetGames’ partnership with UK Sport as one of their first-ever Event Social Impact Partners, we were thrilled to be able to offer five young people from network members Liverpool FC Foundation the chance to be part of the action.

This opportunity saw the young people immersed in the live event experience, undergoing on-the-job training to learn what makes compelling content and the practical skills needed to film and edit their own videos. They’ve had access behind the scenes of the event and have met with fans and athletes alike to spark their creativity.

See some of their work in action on Instagram

We are proud to have helped bring the content creator opportunity to life as part of our Inspiration campaign, which aims to connect young people to major sporting events – offering unforgettable experiences as well as supporting them to develop key employability skills for the future.

Ryan Hardy, Premier League Inspires Senior Coordinator at Liverpool FC Foundation, shared the impact on participants: “The young people took so much from it – building confidence, creating content, and rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in boxing. Seeing their work go live across social media channels was a real highlight for them.”

Feedback from the young people has been overwhelmingly positive, with the experience exposing them to new options to build a career within sport: “I found this experience very interesting as it gave me a better understanding of content creation and the media. Learning from two experts was invaluable, and it was really exciting to have behind-the-scenes access at the boxing and to see the support from all the different countries.”

With their newfound skills and beginnings of a portfolio, the first cohort of the content creator school have even more options for their future.

Thirteen community organisations supported by the partnership between StreetGames and Places for People have reached a new milestone, boosting healthier communities by helping almost 2,000 young people access sport.   

StreetGames, the national charity dedicated to providing young people with access to sport and physical activity, partnered with the Places Foundation – part of the UK’s leading social enterprise Places for People (PfP) – to invest in sport across PfP local communities, helping to improve opportunities for young people to get active.

Building on the success of previous years, StreetGames and PfP expanded the campaign in 2024 to include six more areas across England taking the total to 13, to include Leeds, Hull, Preston, Bedford, Huntingdon and St Neots.

StreetGames and PfP partnered in 2021 and developed a ‘Doorstep Sport’ approach to improve the access to sport that is proven to have multiple positive impacts on young people growing up in disadvantaged communities. By applying the five rights of doorstep sport – place, price, time, people and style – all organisations have contributed to enhancing the lives of young people across the targeted areas.

To ensure the scheme would have long-term impacts, PfP and StreetGames identified a number of locally trusted organisations (LTOs) and commissioned them to undertake the delivery of Doorstep Sport. These organisations are stable and trusted by the local community, they build partnerships, relationships and connections locally, have good governance and are able to demonstrate the impact of their work.

Jamie Dickinson, Group Head of Social Impact at Places Foundation, commented: “We are delighted to have so far engaged 1962 young people across England to get access to low-cost sport and support healthy, happy and active lives.

“We see the direct impact of poor health on our communities and we take our responsibility to support the improvement of national health and wellbeing through access to physical activity seriously. Our project offering has been shaped by our insights from our customers through our annual Wellbeing Surveys and are targeted to our regions through our Community Connectors to young people who can be traditionally hard to reach. We know that some people don’t have access to leisure centres, and this is one of the ways that we work in partnership with different organisations to deliver a variety of initiatives to improve their health and wellbeing.”

Across the 13 communities, 786 sessions have been delivered in total, involving 90 volunteers, and 45 young people have been supported into training and 10 into work.

Stuart Felce, UK Director, Strategic Business Relationships at StreetGames, said: “Reaching nearly 2,000 young people across 13 communities is a milestone we’re incredibly proud of. This partnership has shown what’s possible when sport is brought directly to young people’s doorsteps in a way that’s accessible, inclusive, and rooted in local trust. The impact has been real and lasting—boosting confidence, improving wellbeing, and opening up new pathways into training and employment. It’s a brilliant example of how sport can be a force for good in the places that need it most.”

Kamran Khan from the Junior Sports Hub in Leeds said: “This project has provided a safe and secure space for women and girls in Harehills to allow them to engage in sport and fitness. Their confidence has improved so much over the project and the variety of sports they’ve been able to participate in has been great for their fitness. Some of the girls really took initiative of the project and became natural leaders throughout, building the confidence of other girls. Seeing the girls improve their physical and mental health as well as their self-confidence was the most vital part of the project and one thing we want to carry on in our organisation.”

Since its launch, StreetGames has supported 14 schemes with numerous partnerships across 13 communities in England where PfP manages properties. The sessions were designed to tackle local issues, such as a lack of existing provision and anti-social behaviour in the area, with the overall aim of improving the lives of each community.

Jamie Dickinson, continues: “We’re extremely proud of the success of this project and our partnership with all the organisations that have made this happen. Our Places Foundation team has taken the message of the project to the heart of our communities, and we’re looking forward to building on the success of our community engagement model with more regions in the future. We are committed to making a real difference to the lives of our customers who need it most, and partnerships like this are not only improving health and wellbeing but are also a great way to bring communities together.”

The 13 areas where schemes have been delivered so far are Newcastle, Preston, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby, Huntingdon, St Neots, Bedford, Haringey, Hounslow and Bristol.

Read the full Project Report to find out more.

We are delighted that the Department for Education has today announced a £600 million investment into the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme over the next three years.

At StreetGames, we are proud to be have been a major partner in the HAF programme since its inception in 2018 – co-ordinating and delivering programmes across the country to provide healthy, active and fulfilling holidays for the children and young people who need them most.

Mark Lawrie OBE, CEO of StreetGames, said: “We warmly welcome the Department for Education’s £600 million investment into the HAF programme over the next three years. This vital funding will ensure that children and young people in low-income families continue to benefit from safe spaces, nutritious meals, being physically active and enriching activities during the school holidays. By supporting wellbeing, learning, and the development of key life skills, this investment represents an important step towards tackling inequality and helping every child to thrive.”

Claire Wheeler, StreetGames’ Bring it on Brum! Programme Manager, said: “The continued development of HAF and the diversity of the activities on offer provide significant opportunities for children to grow, socialise and develop. Through our academic evaluation and learning, we understand the impact of the programme and where this reaches across other areas of life, including children becoming more physically active year-round, and the growth of the community and voluntary sector with a more skilled, competent and confident workforce. We know that we have supported families to access additional support and that we’ve provided a safe haven for thousands of children.”

HAF is an initiative that speaks to the heart of what we believe in at StreetGames: giving every child the chance to be healthier, safer and more successful. This vital investment represents an important step towards tackling inequality and helping all young people to thrive.

Thank you to everyone who has tirelessly championed this programme and made its continued success possible.

For media enquiries, please contact press@streetgames.org

StreetGames CEO Mark Lawrie OBE shares his thoughts on the government’s new 10 year health plan for England.

The government’s recently published 10-year health plan for England sets out an ambitious vision for transformational change across the NHS.

At StreetGames, we welcome this long-term commitment to improving health outcomes – particularly when it comes to tackling the deep-rooted inequalities that continue to affect communities across the country. With our 20 years of experience, we have an important role to play in ensuring that the voices of young people growing up in underserved communities are at the heart of the government’s agenda as they put their plan into action.

Tackling inequalities

The plan rightly highlights the growing gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest in society: a gap that has persisted for far too long.

Last year, we commissioned the Association of Young People’s Health (AYPH) to conduct a research study exploring the health and well-being of young people living in low-income communities in England and Wales.

The findings were stark. On almost every measure, low income is associated with poorer health outcomes – from higher rates of disease and disability, to reduced access to services and support for managing long-term conditions. The report also highlighted significant disparities in mental health, obesity, diet, and nutrition, painting a clear picture of the challenges faced by young people growing up in underserved areas.

AYPH’s review of the policy landscape found that while there are high-level commitments to supporting young people and those living in poverty, in practice, this age group is often overlooked. While the government’s commitments laid out in the plan – to halving the life expectancy gap and raising the healthiest generation of children ever – are to be welcomed, these findings highlight that more must be done to translate these promises into action.

A pivotal role for physical activity

At StreetGames, we will always champion the multiple benefits that sport and physical activity can offer to children and young people living in underserved communities. These are not just leisure activities; they are powerful preventative tools that support physical health, mental wellbeing, and social connection. In 2024, our work enabled more than 92,000 children and young people to take part in life-enhancing Doorstep Sport and holiday activities provided by community organisations in the StreetGames network – but there are many more who are still missing out. There is an urgent need for targeted, community-led interventions that meet young people where they are.

Encouragingly, the government’s plan recognises this need, committing to a place-based approach to physical activity through a significant investment into local community sport facilities, as part of a new strategy for physical activity to be developed with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

We look forward to working with government and partners to ensure that these commitments are translated into practical, impactful policies that are developed in collaboration with young people and tailored to their needs.

A focus on mental health

Mental health remains a core concern for the young people we work with. In our Young Person’s Manifesto, which amplifies the voices of young people living in underserved communities across England and Wales, mental health was a top priority. Young people consistently called for more access to understanding adults: counsellors in schools, youth workers, and trusted figures who can offer support, listen, and advocate for their needs.

We were encouraged to see the government commit to expanding mental health support teams in schools and colleges, as well as embedding mental health services within the new Young Futures Hubs, which will support vulnerable young people who are at risk of being drawn into gangs, violence or knife crime.

At StreetGames, we have long recognised that community safety and mental wellbeing go hand in hand. We are proud to be a trusted partner on projects including the Youth Justice Sport Fund and local violence reduction programmes, championing a child first, preventative approach.

The Young Futures Hubs represent a vital opportunity to create safe, welcoming spaces where young people can access holistic support – but they must be backed by adequate resources and a genuine commitment to co-design with young people.

Looking ahead

The government’s 10-year health plan offers a real opportunity to reshape the future of health in England. The plan’s commitment to tackling inequalities in both access and outcomes speaks to the heart of what we do at StreetGames, and we are ready to play our part – bringing the power of sport, community, and youth voice to the forefront of efforts to build a healthier, fairer society.

Let’s make sure that no young person is left behind.

For media enquiries, please contact press@streetgames.org

Written by Kate Roberts, StreetGames Place Partnership Manager – North East, Yorkshire & Humber

The idea for Kit Out was sparked by something that the StreetGames team see all too often: young people with so much to gain from sport and physical activity, but who are held back by not having the right kit.

Lack of suitable sports kit – something that many of us take for granted – is a real and persistent barrier to participation. 74% of surveyed community sports leaders told us that young people are less likely to take part without the right kit. For young people growing up in low income, underserved communities, where opportunities to play sport and be active are already limited, this can make all the difference.

From a conversation between Sarah Tague (Active Humber) and I about the need for more to be done to address these challenges, Kit Out was born.

The project was developed with three key goals in mind:

• Tackling inequalities, by breaking down a key barrier to participation and enabling young people living in underserved communities to engage in Doorstep Sport
• Improving environmental sustainability, by reducing waste and diverting used clothes from landfills
• Strengthening place-based partnership working, by bringing together partners in place to pool capacity, assets and resources – creating a sustainable and shared local project

The project has its roots in Hull, where it launched in summer 2024. From collection and sorting, to stigma-free distribution, the system was built with community and partnership at its heart. In this first chapter alone, we were able to kit out over 300 young people – empowering them to be active, while also keeping more than 200kg of clothing from ending up in landfill.

With this successful pilot under our belts, the project has gone from strength to strength. Kit Out is now running biannually in Hull – and this summer, has taken its first steps into more locations across the North East.

This June, Kit Out was launched in Hartlepool for the first time. With 39% of children in the town living in poverty, the need for the initiative was clear. Teaming up with Hartlepool Sport, Reloved Clothing, and the Youth Sport Trust, we were able to open up donation points across Hartlepool.

The response from the local community was fantastic, including a huge donation of shoes, shirts and tops from Hartlepool United Community Sports Foundation. With summer holiday activities getting underway in the next couple of weeks, these donations come at a crucial time to ensure that local young people feel comfortable and confident to get involved and enjoy a happy, healthy holiday period.

This year has also seen the launch of Kit Out in Sunderland. With 12 donation points across the city, the project has been buoyed by the scale of partnerships involved – with Active Sunderland, RISE, Sported, Youth Sport Trust and the North East Combined Authority all working together to make it a huge success. With 224kg of kit donated, stakeholders and volunteers have worked swiftly to sort the donations and get them straight back out to and the young people they support.

We are thrilled that what started as a conversation between colleagues in Hull has gathered momentum at the pace that it has. We’ve created a replicable model that combines social impact with environmental action, and partnership working with wider community engagement.

With more Kit Out initiatives in the pipeline, both regionally and further afield, we can’t wait to expand the impact and continue supporting both young people and the environment – one t-shirt, tracksuit or trainer at a time.

What our partners are saying about Kit Out

“This is a fantastic way of giving a new lease of life to unwanted sports kit. It helps both those who want to get active but don’t have the kit and those who have it but no longer need it. We’re delighted it’s happening in Sunderland and our thanks go all the partners who are hosting donation boxes.” – Councillor Beth Jones, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Tourism at Sunderland City Council

“Sport and physical activity has so much to offer from a mental, physical and social health perspective, so to see organisations in the region working together to reduce barriers to participation is something we are delighted to support and fund as part of our mission to reduce child poverty.” – Charlotte Carpenter, Director of Skills, Inclusion & Public Service Reform at North East Combined Authority

“The HAF programme provides a valuable opportunity for many children and young people who face the challenges of deprivation and inequality to experience sport and physical activity, making it part of their regular holiday periods. The opportunity to continue their involvement beyond the school holiday is limited by numerous barriers, the cost of sports kit and equipment being one. Kit Out Hull provides a valuable resource to support young people to continue to play, train and enjoy sport and experience the ongoing social, health and wellbeing benefits which come with a healthy lifestyle.” – Kirsty Leake, Locality Programme Co-ordinator at Healthy Holidays Hull

Get involved

Do you want to get involved in an existing Kit Out project or discuss setting one up in your area? Please reach out to a member of your regional team or contact support@streetgames.org

You can also download our Kit Out How To Guide for more information on the approach and tips and resources for making it work in your area.