In 2013, Sport England invested £20m with StreetGames against a contract to create 1,000 Doorstep Sport Clubs. These clubs ran in areas of disadvantage and were designed to attract young people who were not otherwise members of sports clubs or gyms.
Over 300 community organisations hosted Doorstep Sport Clubs (DSCs). The hosts included many different types and sizes of community organisations. These hosts have multiple primary purposes. Some are sports organisations, some are youth clubs, some are housing associations and others are community centres. The clubs operate in community halls, car parks, beaches, youth clubs, MUGAs and leisure centres. DSC participants play all kinds of sports.
The Doorstep Sport Club programme researched young people’s views of themselves, of their lives and their attitudes to being active. Then DSC hosts mapped that insight onto their neighbourhood’s assets and opportunities. They worked with their neighbourhood’s young people to create an activity offer that the young people felt was just about right: at the right time, in the right place, at the right price, in the right style and involving the right people.