‘A New Approach to BME Participation

in Sport & Physical Activity’

A RESPONSE TO A NEW

STRATEGY FOR SPORT

DCMS CONSULTATION

Sporting Equals & University of Leicester

October 2015

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‘A New Approach to BME Participation in Sport & Physical Activity’

1. Introduction

We set out an agenda below for the creation of a much more inclusive and more

cohesive system to support the development of UK sport and aid in the delivery of

increased participation and meeting new governing body performance targets. In order to

do this we need to have a clear understanding of the diverse populations we are working

with and the types of offers and skills which are required to respond to a wide range of

their needs, aspirations and abilities.

We are focusing here largely on the UK’s Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) populations.

We do this because BME communities are more inactive and more unhealthy than

others, form a significant part of the UK population, and they are growing and becoming

increasingly diverse. As Policy Exchange pointed out recently in A Portrait of Modern

Britain:

“The face of Britain has changed… BME communities will continue to become an ever

more significant part of Britain. There are clear and striking differences between

communities and these differences should be understood by policymakers and

politicians,”

These groups are often overlooked, however, even though BME communities show the

greatest potential for growth and for wider engagement in sport and physical activity. In

order to tap this potential it is our view that nothing less than a mind-set change is

required within national, regional and local organisations working in UK sport, with a clear

commitment to engage more strongly and much more astutely with potential BME sport

participants, parents and others in their sporting journey.

Above all, perhaps, we need to value and draw much more directly on BME people’s life

experiences so that they can develop the confidence and pathways to become involved

and stay involved in sport and physical activity for enjoyment and sociability, for friendly

competition, and for health reasons.

This short paper has been put together as part of a response to the DCMS consultation.

It draws on previous research carried out by Sporting Equals and the University of

Leicester and is supported by our recent research and feedback with grassroots workers

and volunteers, some of which was carried out across the country through Regional

Forums in September 2015. Our work opens up a wider platform of voices that often go

unheard and are relatively unrecognised by sports organisations.

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This research carried out by Sporting Equals/University of Leicester is very timely and

provides important data on current issues facing BME communities and also

opportunities for change. It provides the basis upon which existing programmes should

be reviewed. The objective should be to ensure that current approaches are transformed

in order to produce a much more integrated and inclusive reality, one that will increase

participation and ensure equal access and opportunities for all UK communities.

2. Who Are the Contributors?

Our submission combines the work and insight of three main contributors. The partnership between Sporting Equals and the University of Leicester is now tried and tested and has been working well in producing research, practical recommendations and results in relation to BME inclusion and sport in cities such as Luton, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow, Bradford and London. Sporting Equals is an independent charity set up to promote ethnic diversity across the sport and physical activity sector. Its mission is to make a sustainable difference to the inclusion of all under represented communities in sport and physical activity. It has a range of expertise in research, community engagement, brokerage, training and project management. Sporting Equals offers a range of services and are key advisors to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Sport England, National Governing Bodies of sport, sports clubs and other sports providers. Sporting Equals has developed a nationally recognised specialist expertise in working collaboratively with NGBs to improve and extend the way they engage with and represent BME communities. Its regional infrastructure enables direct community engagement, building trust and common ground with local communities alongside upskilling workforces and volunteers as UK communities continue to become increasingly complex. University of Leicester academics from Sociology have considerable research and insight experience in the area of BME sport and have been working effectively with Sporting Equals on projects for the provision and delivery of local sport to BME communities. In 2015, John Williams and Surinder Sharma at Leicester launched a new unit at Leicester concerned with issues of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement (DICE). Professor Sharma, chairs the Race Equality Centre in Leicester and has been championing equality/diversity issues for over 30 years, with a proven track record of achieving change in private, public and voluntary sector organisations. He has operated at all levels within organisations with considerable experience at board level developing strategy in a national, European and global contexts. He has worked with a range of agencies and stakeholders to develop models of excellence and best practice around diversity and equality issues linked to bottom line business benefits and organisational vision and values.

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3. Which Themes Are We Addressing?

This submission for A New Strategy for Sport has a special focus on the organisation, funding and role of local sport in the lives of BME communities in the UK. It is based on detailed research conducted with NGBs, local authorities, sports agencies and BME groups across different communities in a number of UK cities. Our main emphases address issues which are likely to cut across a number of key themes, but they focus specifically on addressing the following challenges identified in the consultation framework;

‘Government would welcome views on how to address the participation challenge in under-represented groups and in particular where maximum value for money can be found in delivering long term, sustainable change.’ (p.11) ‘Government would welcome views on what we can do to ensure sport organisations are diverse and inclusive and provide equal opportunities for everyone to reach senior management and board positions.’ (p.43) ‘Government would welcome views on how sport can specifically address the number of people who are physically inactive.’ (p.15) ‘Government would welcome views on how sport and physical activity can play a more significant and effective role as part of a wider strategy to combat obesity, diabetes and other physical health conditions. (p16) ‘Government would welcome view on how we can ensure that coaching is effective as possible for all who use it.’(p.30) ‘Government would welcome views on how sports volunteers can be more effectively supported; from recruitment through retention, reward and validation’. (p.32)

Our Insight reveals that the current systems are causing barriers to supporting BME

participation and growth. Often pathways to coaching, volunteering and participation are

restricted by infrastructures which engage only inwardly within existing social structures.

Alongside this, subtle forms of discrimination and sexism exist in relation to progression

and opportunity for people from BME communities. There is a need for a shift in power to

enable greater access to opportunities, particularly at a local level.

Our approach links up the wider agenda, not only around getting more people more

active, more often but also using physical activity to enable healthier lifestyles, improve

mental health and reduce healthcare burdens. Alongside this, we need to use sport to

empower young people to build skills and create transparent pathways into volunteering

and coaching, thus enabling wider access routes into employment and training.

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4. Our Twelve Key Observations Summarised The sporting workforce is not meeting the needs of underrepresented groups and the workforce lacks the knowledge, skills and confidence to engage with these groups - More education and training is required through specialised local insight, faith and culture engagement training which is mainstreamed through organisations like Skills Active, SportsCoach UK and delivered by specialist bodies like Sporting Equals – The Sporting Equals fit as fiddle training was developed specifically around how to engage with BME older people from different faith communities and this was rolled out across the country at a local level to help build empathy and sensitivity. To build empathy organisations also need to diversify their workforces. This can be done through widening the pool of talent and utilising and adopting more innovative ways of recruitment e.g. recruitment agencies with a brief to attract candidates with diverse life experiences or local knowledge to ensure organisations recruit people from the community who understand the community. (Themes 5&8)

BME communities suffer worse health are likely to be more physically inactive and are often 'hard to engage' (by national, regional, local sporting and health agencies) and are often 'hidden' and often feel socially excluded - More research needs to be carried out by agencies who empathise with specialist agencies in these and connected areas to help understand the complexities of these communities which should then be fed into service development plans to help wider support health based initiatives linked to sport and physical activity. Alternative routes to market need to be explored through e.g. tapping into events that have significant BME footfall which provide a platform to forge stronger relationships between sports providers and BME communities. (Please see Appendix - 1)

BME disabled communities are also ‘hidden’ and face multiple forms of disadvantage. In some areas this is leading to parallel and separate development – There is very little research on BME disabled people and more is needed to help understand the complexities of these communities and their sporting and health needs and aspirations which should then be fed into service development and plans to help support sport and health based initiatives. (Themes 2&8).

BME women are often excluded from sport due to cultural/faith barriers and lack access to opportunities - - More targeted interventions are required educating service providers to be responsive to local need, best practice needs to be scaled up nationally to help develop learning and how to be receptive to local need. Alongside this, consideration should be given to future inclusive facility design and structures to ensure sufficient privacy and accessibility for this group. Sporting Equals worked in partnership with ASA to change how services were run at Batley Baths which resulted in women outside the area coming to access the pool and resulted in an active waiting list which transformed the pool which was underutilised. (Themes 1,2 &8).

There is a need to diversify sporting workforces and support talented individuals to senior and board positions - Programmes such as the Sporting Equals Leaderboard project need to be given greater credibility and resources in the sector and supported as a platform to open up opportunities for BME individuals. Sports Deliverers also need to change approaches to recruitment strategies to help engage BME audiences through ethnic media and localised marketing and understand the business case to diversity. (Themes 5&8)

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BME communities are less likely to engage in formal mainstream structured support - There are opportunities to expand sporting offers and opportunities particularly for inactive communities through faith centre engagement – More research is needed to establish the extent to which faith centres can provide sports services but Sporting Equals's initial research indicates a huge potential for faith centres in increasing sports and physical activity provision for BME people, including older, inactive BME individuals and women and girls – A good example of this is the Nishkam centre which engages the community through the local gurdwara and has opened up sport through its adjoining facilities. Faith centres should be recognised as part of the formal structures of sport rather than relying mostly on sports clubs that can be unwelcoming for BME groups. (Themes 1,2&8)

Often race and faith equality responsibilities are likely to take a ‘back seat’ in many public sector or hybrid bodies, there is often a lack of expertise on equality/diversity policy and on collecting and using data to help convert policy into delivery. There is also often a deep complacency on recruitment issues, and an associated chronic underrepresentation of people from BME backgrounds in senior positions in such bodies – more intensive work is required using approaches such as the Sporting Equals Inclusive Club Model which tackles the culture set within sports clubs, NGBS and sporting organisations by promoting the business case to diversity alongside better internal systems for monitoring inclusion and diversity – the inclusive model has been used on a number of organisations and has enabled systematic change to be embedded into policy frameworks. (Theme 8)

The BME third sector is overlooked when it comes to provision and there is a need for greater empowerment of BME ‘shadow leagues', local BME clubs and third sector voluntary organisations - The BME third sector is a vital engagement tool and one of the key ways in which some of the ‘hardest to engage’ BME communities will continue to access sport - this sector needs to be connected with mainstream provision and resources, NGBs and local providers, without compromising their energy and independence. More investment is required in infrastructural support to help capacity build BME sports sector organisations to make them fit for purpose and to help deliver/expand quality sporting opportunities. Sporting Equals can help facilitate access to the BME third sector and help provide the necessary environment to promote and ensure better integration with mainstream delivery systems for sport. (Themes 1,2&8)

Invest in developing community sports hubs in inner city areas – Given the right kind of resourcing and support, scaling up local initiatives will help make a significant impact in terms of increasing activity and participation and meeting broader social outcomes. - The Holford HUB in Birmingham is an excellent example of a multisport offer across the city connecting the Council, Health & Wellbeing Board, Community Safety Partnership, governing bodies and other agencies through local impact. The hub is managed totally by volunteers and has significantly increased participation from underrepresented groups. To increase its long term sustainability and grow its sporting offer, it needs additional support and capacity building. (Themes 1,2&8)

There is a lack of BME role models to help motivate and inspire young people to take up sport and a lack of recognition for BME talent - The annual British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSA) can provide a platform in which to help recognise and celebrate role models from grassroots communities (e.g. volunteers) to elite level talent, however continued support is required from the sector. (Themes 6&8)

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There is a need to move forward with technological advances to help engage the BME market – more engagement should be done through social media platforms. 50% of BME groups are frequent users of online platforms (GottaBe, 2015) and are more likely to spend more money on the latest technologies e.g. smart phones. (Theme 1)

There is a need to acknowledge and promote the untapped resource available to sport through ethnic media - The IPA New Britain report 2014 showed that 77% of British Asians and 65% of African Caribbean felt that mainstream adverts had no or little relevance to them. Governing bodies and sports providers need to widen marketing and communication campaigns to reach diverse audiences. (Theme 1)

5. Our Evidence-Based Analysis of the Current Situation

Theme One: Participation

While a combination of legislation and wider action has improved opportunities for BME

communities, our research suggests that inequality and discrimination persist in the

context of provision of, and access to sport and physical recreation opportunities for BME

communities. They are poorly represented at decision making levels1 and, for a number

of reasons, key sections of these communities are excluded or face a range of barriers to

participation. Key barriers include: lack of parental support, material constraints, concerns

about racial discrimination, and access to culturally-appropriate sport and physical

recreation opportunities.2

‘When a team of young Asians turn up on their doorstep other clubs think we have

landed from the moon’, Respondent North Regional Forum

Participation data serve to confirm the relatively low levels of participation in sport among

certain BME communities; they record lower levels of involvement than White populations

for a range of indicators. In terms of sports participation, gender disparity is also greater

among BME communities. Significantly, the generally lower levels of involvement among

BME communities are not confined to active participation, but extend to other areas such

as spectating, volunteering and administration (particularly when referring to South Asian

groups).1 The figures are more comparable for coaches, but BME communities are

under-represented in pretty much all official positions within sports organisations.

‘There has been lack of commitment from sport itself in terms of making sure

everyone gets to take part in sport’, Respondent North Regional Forum

THERE IS AN INCREASING (& RATHER INACTIVE) BME POPULATION

A major challenge for UK sport is that the BME populations in the UK are continuing to

grow. The latest Census figures highlight that eight million people - or 14% of the

1 Who’s on Board, Evaluating changes in diversity in sports leadership, Sporting Equals, 2012 2 A Systematic Review of the Literature on Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in Sport and Physical Recreation, Summary Report, July 2009, Five Sports Councils and Sporting Equals

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population - now belong to an ethnic minority, though this is probably an under-estimate.

This official figure increases further, to 19.5%, when one includes new and ‘emerging’

communities e.g. Eastern European communities.

New and BME communities tend to be younger and to have larger families than their

established White equivalents. This means that over the past decade the UK’s White

population has remained roughly the same size whilst the minority ethnic population has

almost doubled in size. BME groups now account for almost all (80%) of the UK’s recent

strong population growth.

The spread of UK BME communities, however, remains very uneven: three UK cities –

London, Birmingham and Greater Manchester – account for around 50% of the total BME

population of England and Wales. More concentrated, resourced work needs to occur in

these locations.

These significant changes in the ethnic profile of the UK represents one of the biggest

challenges – as well as a major opportunity - for government and sports providers for

improving health and for growing sports participation and representation among young

people and adults from BME backgrounds. Crucially, a recent report produced by UK

Active3 makes it very clear that there is a direct correlation between the differential

presence of BME communities and higher levels of localised physical inactivity in cities.

For example, multi-ethnic Manchester also has the highest level of reported inactivity in

England, with 40% of its adult residents self-reporting as inactive. Other UK cities which

have large BME populations are also high on the scale in terms of reported inactivity,

including Birmingham (34%), Nottingham (33%), Bradford (37%) and some parts of

London e.g. Ealing (29%).

Working in a co-ordinated and incisive way with different BME communities in their

local contexts is likely to have the greatest relative impact on participation and

reducing BME inactivity.

THERE IS AN INCREASINGLY YOUNG BME UK POPULATION

With the exception of the Black Caribbean population, all UK BME groups offer a much

younger age structure than the White British population. Ethnic minorities, for example,

represent just 5% of the over-60s population, but 25% of the Under-10 population. The

median age of BME communities ranges from 22 (for Bangladeshis) to 38 (for Black

Caribbeans). The White British median age is 39.

So, most UK BME communities are slanted towards the younger generation, with half of

the BME population in the UK under the age of 30. According to the last Census, BME

communities already outnumber White British communities in every age group in London

up to 20, with Black Caribbeans as one outlier to this general trend.

3 UK Active (2014) Turning the Tide of Inactivity

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Because they have such a youthful age structure, BME populations will represent

a much larger proportion of the UK’s national population over time – another

reason why working intensively now with BME populations is co crucial.

BME WOMEN WANT DIFFERENT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE NOT ON OFFER

It has become clear to us from our detailed research around the UK that many younger

BME women – perhaps especially those from more traditional Muslim faith backgrounds

– feel effectively excluded from opportunities to do sport and take part in physical activity.

This is a complex picture, but below we outline ten areas that currently act as a barrier for

South Asian women in sport. Many of these are conducive to government action, in

partnership with a range of national and local bodies working in the sports arena:

a) There is a relative lack of infrastructure to support female BME sport activity in

the transition after school/college

b) There is a relative lack of parental support or meaningful incentives for in

particular Muslim and other South Asian children – especially female children -

to do sport and PA

c) The severe constraints provide by childcare and domestic responsibilities for

young BME mothers often militate against their participation in physical

activities.

d) There is a relative lack of qualified and experienced female BME coaches,

especially from Asian backgrounds

e) The sector is hampered by unsuitable (or absent) transport arrangements to

support young BME women in their aspirations to do physical activity or sport

in the evening

f) There is a chronic lack of suitable, ‘safe’ facilities in or nearby inner city Asian

communities that can offer opportunities for sport & PA on a regular basis.

g) There are serious problems in communication and effective marketing around

sport and physical activity for BME women, especially Muslims

h) There is a lack of an effective message which penetrates BME communities

about the health and social benefits of being active

i) Sports mega-events and professional sport do relatively little to inspire and

engage BME Asian women because of the lack of a potential career path and

obvious role models – sport is a very difficult terrain on which Asian women

might engage or impress.

j) There is still early and persistent segregation of sports in school/college by

gender. Many BME girls see sport as ‘natural’ for boys.

In terms of the last point, it was clear from our focus groups with South Asian girls that

not all sports were made equally available to boys and girls at mixed-sex schools. This

clearly feeds into a more general view that BME boys and young men – and males

generally - still have rather more freedom and were encouraged to develop a more

‘natural’ aptitude and a passion, especially for specific competitive team sports. This

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means more inventive thinking is urgently needed about what is on offer and is likely to

apply both BME and other females across the UK.

These sorts of early gendered experiences in school, in which there was more

opportunities and much more support provided for male team sport, were also seen to

offer a better chance for continuity in physical activity later. This brief exchange among a

group of young Asian women from Bradford summarises this view:

‘I don’t think I would have wanted to play rugby [at school] but I didn’t have the

choice, Yeah, like girls did gymnastics and boys did like football.’

‘It was just the boys that were competing with the other schools. We did dance

and netball teams with other girls. It’s like how the boys play football at the

weekend at set times and they hire out the sports hall and go every week. But it’s

harder for girls.’

Focus Group Respondents, Sporting Equals Insight, September 2015

There are not the same barriers everywhere for all South Asian girls, of course. We

found some inspiring stories, often from more affluent, less traditional sectors of the UK

Asian population, in which young women were active. But we also found successful well-

resourced BME male sports projects which effectively excluded women from the same

communities.

Also, having often had relatively limited involvement in sport at school, having picked up

only a few transferable skills in this area, and often having been encouraged to identify

sport with boys, this means that continuing sport and physical activity later becomes

much more difficult for many young BME women. They typically lack confidence and

encouragement in their own capabilities – and community support to be involved.

In college and other post-school settings it was often claimed by young women that

formal support in sport was not tailored to the needs of all students, including those who

wanted to be involved but lacked expertise and experience. Instead it was offered most

to team sports and to people (usually males) who had an existing sporting biography.

Again, our respondents sum up the barriers well:

‘If I was to play football on a field right now then the next girl will come it will be

awkward and I will be just: “Forget it.” Because I feel intimidated, and it’s just

having that encouragement.’

‘Colleges do need to promote sport, only because its 18 & 19 year olds and they

would think sport is for a child unless they sort of push it and promote it in a better

way. And to encourage them – “Come do this” and “This is happening at lunch

time.”’

Focus Group Respondents, Sporting Equals Insight, September 2015

There is much more local demand than opportunities for BME women, often with waiting

lists for female gym activities and female-only swimming sessions. Female only sessions

are often scrapped because only male staff are available to supervise. Much more

thought is required around how employment and volunteering routes can be opened up

to BME females enabling a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

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There was also an argument made here that males routinely have sporting activities

effectively organised by and for them – why not for women? There is a problem in

organising sport for BME women in open spaces. But not all these women wanted their

sport or physical activity entirely out of sight of males, or for Muslims only – just more

female support and expertise. Many see the health benefits of sport/physical activity and

often are often willing to pay £3-£4 per session for suitable provision if it is made

accessible in local areas.

There was also confidence that if opportunities were provided to train more female

coaches and instructors, then more BME women from these faith backgrounds would

come forward to challenge even potential objections from male family members:

‘I think it would be nice if we had a female coach that can organise events for

women. And if it did happen I think a lot more people would enjoy it and a lot more

people would join in. Like for boys they have those big tournaments, like from

different towns, and we don’t have anything.’

‘I like badminton and tennis. We could just do that. I think if there’s no instructors

then I don’t know how long it would last and you would probably go a few times.’

Focus Group Respondents, Sporting Equals Insight, September 2015

Demand from BME females for sport and physical activity is often for participation in

community-based sports and in ‘safe’, often non-competitive, hybrid physical activity

contexts, rather than via the more formalised club and competitive structures. The latter

often seem distant and unresponsive to many young BME individuals, perhaps especially

those drawn from South Asian communities. Sporting Equals regional infrastructure is

enabling sport to take place in community/faith based settings, with some 30 partnerships

projects targeting the most disengaged and inactive communities. However more

capacity is required to scale up initiatives with the right sort of support and collaboration.

For many young BME women having more easily available and affordable sports

and exercise opportunities in or near their own communities and run by women for

women, will clearly be a critical factor in securing their own engagement in such

activities. Working intensively in this area will also have impact on one of the most

inactive groups of all – older BME women with families.

The huge difference in the activity levels of different ethnic and faith groups means that interventions need to be local, targeted and evidence-based. The UK BME community is not a homogenous group and local context is critical. So a one-size-fits-all support programme will not work. Different areas and different sports will have specific groups that one needs to work with. However, key groups should include Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities, members of Muslim communities and new and emerging migrants. Targeted research work with women in all of these groups is also needed to ensure products and offers are receptive to local need.

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‘Some facilities are unable to provide female only session and women would rather not go swimming than be seen by local men. The Batley project has enabled us to learn to swim by meeting our needs and women are now coming from outside the area to access the pool so waiting lists are full’.

Sporting Equals Research with Amateur Swimming Association, Batley Project, September 2014

Technological Advancement

Sporting Equals research identified that for younger BME groups (males and females)

technology was at the forefront of how they live their lives. They are often connected

through social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and the sector

needs to move with the times to keep up with changing behaviour and lifestyle as

identified in the Sport England Youth Review.4

It is estimated that 30% of companies make no effort to market to multicultural societies. The IPA New Britain report 2014 showed that 77% of British Asians felt that mainstream adverts had no or little relevance to them. Similarly, 65% of black people commented that mainstream media has no relevance to them. Many companies don’t target ethnic minorities, when their spending power is estimated to be between £12-15 billion a year. What’s more, for 57% of London’s population, English is their second language.5 These statistics indicate that sports providers are missing out on huge myriad of opportunities to help engage and promote to these markets. Reaching out to untapped ethnic minorities through ethnic specific media is necessary if we are to implement behaviour change amongst inactive BME communities. For example, Islam Channel, Sikh Channel, The Voice, Cooltura and Daily Sing Tao between them can reach millions of people. Findings from the research identified that when marketing to ethnic minorities, it is important to understand your target. It is also wise to market based on the understanding of the specific culture you are trying to reach. If the target feels you understand their needs, it is easier for them to trust the brand and feel they can benefit from its services. Understanding the consumer makes it easier to understand what mobilises them.

‘ Ethnic marketing is a very powerful tool and more and more brands are discovering the benefit of it’, Monika Jagielska, Client Service Manager, GottaBeMarketing

Reaching out to ethnic minorities can be more accessible through the use of social media sites. Especially when 50% of ethnic communities are frequent users of online platforms. Multi-cultural Britons are also more likely to spend more money on the latest technologies, such as smart phones. Meaning that reaching them through the use of technology is easier than other forms of communication.6

4 Sporting Equals focus group Insight 2015 5 http://gottabemarketing.co.uk/why-invest-in-ethnicmarketing/ (accessed 1.10.15) 6 http://gottabemarketing.co.uk/why-invest-in-ethnicmarketing/ (accessed 1.10.15)

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In future it is important to consider how sporting campaigns can reach these audiences and a wider strategy is needed using technology platforms to help promote sporting opportunities at a local level.

Theme Two: Physical Activity

Our research consistently shows that non-participation rates for many BME communities

are appreciably lower than that for the White majority.7 Using focus groups conducted

with young South Asian males we found some interesting trends mirroring Sport

England’s recent Youth Review.

South Asian males8, for example, agreed that they are increasingly seeking ‘meaningful’ experiences in their sports participation. The groups we spoke to were 16-21, typically in education and were interested in sport; but the majority had very sporadic sports participation. Through childhood and education many highlighted engagement with sport which dropped off when making the transition into higher education, work and planning to settle down. Many highlight these lifestyle changes as busy, difficult periods which make it hard to find time. However, they would engage if they could see the benefits and if service providers were receptive to their needs.

The current UK Government guidelines suggest that adults should be undertaking a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week to reduce the risk for a number of chronic health conditions. However, currently less than half of adults meet the UK Government recommendations.

Among BME communities, sport and physical activity participation is well below the national average. Men and women of South Asian descent are the least likely to meet physical activity guidelines, with Bangladeshi (26%) and Pakistani (28%) men having the lowest prevalence of meeting physical activity recommendations compared with men from other ethnic backgrounds. This pattern is also true for Bangladeshi and Pakistani women, at 11% and 14% respectively.

Low levels of physical activity have been identified as a major risk in the contraction of various diseases and illnesses relating to physical inactivity. In particular, the British South Asian population are at greater risk of illness, such as coronary heart disease and type-two diabetes. In order to address these health inequalities and low participation rates, South Asian communities must become a focus of much more targeted and effective policies in relation to sport and physical activity. Whilst improved health and wellbeing must be a central focus, policy in this area must also aim to improve the sporting experience of British Asians and in doing so promote greater integration and social cohesion within local communities in the UK.

Our own research shows how young South Asian females9 have highlighted their shift of

focus in moving to a more ‘functional’ sport and physical activity experience. This group

7 Sport England Active People Survey 8 Sporting Equals Insight Young Indian Males (16-24), Sporting Equals, March 2015/ Regional Forums. September 2015 9 Sporting Equals Insight Young Pakistani Women (16-24), Sporting Equals, September 2015

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made it very clear, however, that they needed an offer of sport and physical activity that

suits their needs in terms of social and cultural restrictions:

“The supply of sport tends to reach those already engaged. There is a need for a broader offer which meets more diverse needs to break the norms of sports participation.” – Sport England Youth Review (2014)

Our recent consultation/research work has shown that there is a considerable appetite for

more involvement in sport and physical activity among young people in BME

communities - and especially perhaps among young BME females. However,

arrangements for local sport often effectively exclude many BME individuals. Facilities

are limited – expensive new builds often do not take account of faith and cultural needs –

BME volunteering is low, parental opposition and trust is often a factor, and activities are

not always organised at times, in ways, and in locations, to suit the specific needs of

BME communities.

Members of specific BME communities require a new focus for health and sociability reasons, Those who are ‘interested’ in sport but who are largely disengaged from sporting activity allude to the fact that local sporting offers often do not meet their needs, in terms of culture, faith and lifestyle – in the latter case, for example, around their complex commitments to family and work.

Physical activity offers opportunities to engage in more general social interaction.

Properly organised, it can introduce those involved to a wide range of people drawn from

very different backgrounds. Issues of equality and diversity are becoming more important

in all aspects of our lives and work for a number of reasons. We live in an increasingly

complex society and we need to be able to respond appropriately and sensitively to this

growing diversity.

The people involved in collective sport settings ideally should reflect this diversity and

may be of different gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, religion or age. It is

important to consider how these integrative and social aspects of sport and physical

activity can be promoted to develop equality and diversity skill sets, an important part of

social integration.

HEALTH INEQUALITIES, PHYSICIAL INACTIVITY & BME COMMUNITIES

Health inequalities still exist in Britain today and are still an unsolved obstacle and cost

for government. Ethnic minority communities, migrants and refugees living in the poorest

areas of England are among the people who are least likely to benefit from and enjoy the

huge health benefits that sport and physical activity can bring. A Parliamentary report10

10 Parliamentary Office for Science & Technology, Number 276, January 2007

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tells us that ‘Black and minority ethnic groups (BMEs) generally have worse health than

the general population and over half of ethnic minority groups do no sport or physical

activity.11 The statistics are startling12:

In 2006, 175 million working days were lost due to ill health costing the economy over £100 billion.

44% of the overall BME Population and 53% of the Muslim Population live in the 70 poorest Local Authority and the most overcrowded areas. BME Communities also have a lower life expectancy for both men & women than the general population.

South Asian communities are 50% more likely to have Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) than the rest of the population.

Perinatal deaths amongst babies born to mothers who were born in Pakistan is nearly twice the average of all births in England & Wales.

Higher Mental Health prevalence rates than the general population: 12.6% amongst Bangladeshi, 17.3% amongst Black Caribbean, 18.1% amongst Indian and 19.6% amongst Pakistani communities.

Black & Dual Heritage Patients are between 20% & 36% more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act.

South Asian Communities have 6 times higher blood pressure and type 2 rates than the general population, and get it a younger age.

African & Caribbean Communities have 3 times rates of stroke than the general population.

In smoking: 40% of Bangladeshi men smoke compared to 24% of men in the general population.

Evidence suggests that some non-white groups are less willing to report themselves as being disabled – something particularly true of Chinese groups, who have the lowest reported prevalence overall.13

Information from the Leicester unit for Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement

Unit (DICE) identifies that members of BME Communities suffer from ill health and health

inequalities, for example, higher rates of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke,

infant mortality, lower life expectancy for men & women and heart disease. They have a

poorer diet, high in salt and saturated fat.

BME communities are more likely to be physically inactive, are considered to be

'hard to reach' by national, regional and local sporting bodies, by health bodies &

health professionals, are often 'hidden' as far as public health initiatives are

concerned, ignored by organised amateur sporting club structures, and feel

socially excluded. This is particularly important for BME disabled communities who

11 Sport England Active People Survey 12 Statistics supplied by DICE – (from the presentations of the National Director of Equality & Human Rights at the Department of Health) 13 Over-looked Communities, Over-due Change: how services can better support BME disabled people 2012

15

face multiple forms of disadvantage. In some areas this is leading to parallel and

separate development. More research needs to be carried out in all these areas.

Evidence also points to the poorer socio-economic position of BME groups as the main

factor behind ethnic ‘health inequalities’ and the Health Survey for England identifies that

ill health among BME people starts at a younger age than in the White British population.

This clearly highlights that this issue demands a higher place on the priority list of the

government, and problems will continue to increase within this group unless effective

interventions are put in place to help break down barriers to enable greater access.

Alongside this, very little reliable information exists around BME disabled communities

and the barriers they face as they are likely to suffer from multiple forms of disadvantage

in relation to discrimination and service providers lacking the cultural and technical

knowledge to address their needs.

The 2011 Lancet report14 identifies that the ‘obesity epidemic’ is creating enormous

disease burdens. The Chief Medical Officer's report1516 on activity and health emphasises

that physical inactivity is not merely a critical factor in obesity but is also implicated in 20

other diseases and conditions. Evidence suggests that traditional public information

campaigns are not successful with lower socio-economic or other hard-to-reach groups,

and that bad health conditions fall disproportionately on people living in deprived

circumstances and on particular ethnic groups, such as South Asians. According to

government data this accounts for the largest part of the health inequalities in our society.

In a study carried out by the UK Faculty of Public Health it was identified that BME

parents are often unaware of the long-term health risks or the risks attached to poor diet

and low activity levels and physical activity is not a key part of Pakistani, Bangladeshi,

and Black African [Nigerian and Ghanaian] cultures. The work Sporting Equals are

delivering on the ground helps target the most disadvantaged communities supporting

often the most vulnerable groups who are seldom seen or heard alongside reducing long

term health costs. We have however only scratched the surface in our key cities due to

limited resources. But we are finding ways of working collaboratively with agencies to

help address these issues. Our recommendation is to help empower the BME voluntary

sector to promote higher activity levels and move people away from sedentary lifestyles

and promote active behaviour change through health based programmes.

Theme Five: Coaching, Workforce and Good Governance

BME groups are under-represented in the sport and recreation workforce and in sports volunteering, coaching and officiating in London and in all regions of the UK. It has been

14http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmhealth/23/2306.htm The Lancet Report, Reversing the Obesity

Epidemic 15 House of Commons, Health Committee, Health Inequalities, Volume 1, 26 February 2009 16 http://www.fph.org.uk/uploads/HealthyWeight_SectD_Toolkit09.pdf House of Commons – Health, Third Report, May 2004

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made very clear to us in our focus groups around the UK just how difficult it is to recruit BME volunteers and how the underrepresentation of BME coaches impacts negatively on participation levels in sport and physical activity, especially for females.

Coaching in the UK remains an activity dominated by white, middle class males

and, with the possible exception of disability, does not mirror the UK

population. Some 69% of all coaching-related roles are male (moving up to

82% for qualified coaches and head coaches); males make up 49% of the UK

population.17

Only 3% of coaches and 1% of qualified coaches are drawn from ethnic

minority backgrounds compared to their much larger presence in the UK

population and over three quarter of coaches (76%) are from the ABC1

(upper/middle social class) social grouping compared to 55% in these

categories in the UK population.18 19

It is estimated that some 3.5% of adults in London offer at least one hour a week volunteering to support sport. Volunteering rates are lower among Black (2.9%), Asian (3.1%), and Mixed ethnic groups (3.2%).20

Survey research reaffirms the view held by many former BME male and female athletes that the coaching and management of sports is a space for white players and in particular a space dominated by white men. 21

A recent report published by the University of Leeds identified that the under-representation of BME women coaches was the least understood issue by sporting organisations22. More action is required to target, attract, recruit and retain BME women coaches. However, before this can occur, greater knowledge and understanding is needed about the factors that facilitate or constrain women from different BME communities. This should begin with the compilation of comparative data across sports that consider ethnicity alongside gender in order to profile the coaching workforce. Supporting this should be research aimed at capturing much more the experiences and voices of BME women.

People in BME communities involved in sport understand some of the problems here in

respect to securing reliable sports volunteers from people from BME backgrounds. Given

their often precarious situation, perhaps new incentives, and new forms of positive action

and support, are needed to help the development of a larger and sustainable pool of

BME volunteers, as these South Asian sports workers in Bradford suggest:

17 The UK Coaching Framework, A 3-7-11 Year Action Plan, The National Coaching Foundation, sports coach UK, Coachwise,

2008 18 The UK Coaching Framework, A 3-7-11 Year Action Plan, The National Coaching Foundation, sports coach UK, Coachwise,

2008 19 Sports Coaching in the UK III, A statistical analysis of coaches and coaching in the UK, January 2011 20 BME volunteering in Sport, Sporting Equals, September 2011 21 Leeds University, Sporting experiences and coaching aspirations among Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups, March 2014 22 Leeds University, Sporting experiences and coaching aspirations among Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups, March 2014

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‘If you look at the history of this country, the vast majority of sport is run through volunteers and we shouldn’t be an exception because we happen to be different. Having said that we will need a starting point and a lot of the community will need a starting point to get to the point where we have our own facilities. And then we can actually start pulling together these volunteers, educating the volunteers, educating the community in terms of giving their time and so on.’

‘I think sometimes when you look at equality you need to have that exception where someone is paid. Volunteers might be needed but you’ve got to think that once someone is paid they can educate the community. Therefore you deliver and then you get sustainable volunteers coming through. That’s where equality comes in, sometimes you look at the differences and actually this community needs more and that’s where equality comes in.’

Respondents Sporting Equals Regional Forum, Bradford 2015

Coaches from non-BME backgrounds do not necessarily always have the connections,

skills, trust and cultural know-how to engage effectively with diverse communities. The

BME community sector is also important here as a significant number of locations have

facilities that are not being fully utilised to their potential.

BME coaches play an important role in their club and / or sporting contexts as role

models, as “bridges” that connect their clubs to new BME participants, and as

advocates of the potential abilities and the contributions that BME groups can make to

the coaching profession. The worth of BME coaches should therefore, not be

overlooked, but rather valued, recognised and above all “seen”. 23

More effective local partnerships and collaboration is absolutely necessary if we are to

engage inactive and underrepresented groups (e.g. faith based communities) into

coaching and volunteering in sport. Sporting Equals and SportsCoach UK have started

working more closely together and this can be built upon. Explorations of delivery of sport

and physical activity via faith routes in BME communities is often limited; such work has

been underfunded and has developed far too slowly as faith centres tend to lack the

support, expertise and resources they need to become key providers in this area.

Our experience shows that there are faith centres - temples and mosques –which are

beginning to get involved in promoting sport, but this is mainly for males. These faith

centres also tend to operate outside conventional mainstream sporting channels and they

know relatively little about available funding networks and existing support systems.

Many more faith centres in the UK want to develop or increase their sporting offer,24 but

they often begin from a low base and need specialist support. Engaging more faith

centres in sport and physical activity provision could provide an opportunity to deliver and

promote sports opportunities to a substantial section of existing UK BME communities

currently on the outside of the sports nexus: average congregations can vary from 200 to

3,000 plus.

23 Leeds University, Sporting experiences and coaching aspirations among Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups, March 2014 24 The role of faith centres in the delivery of Sport and Physical Activity, Sporting Equals, June 2012

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The footfall of some of the larger faith centres within core target cities can reach 30,000

people per week. This presents a huge opportunity for the sport and physical activity

sectors to tap into new markets and to target audiences who would otherwise not be

easily accessible through existing channels.

An audit carried out by Sporting Equals estimated around 40% of faith establishments in the UK have facilities which are currently being used or could be made available for sport or physical activity provision. A number of those that do not have facilities of their own are using community-based provision, such as in hiring out halls and using local parks to carry out sports or physical activity.

We urgently need to develop mechanisms to engage and support those faith centres which can have a vital role in supplementing sports and physical activity provision for BME people, including older, inactive BME individuals and women and girls.

A young organiser from north London identifies with this model and attests that mosques

can become potential supporters of sport and that some sections of BME communities are

very willing to hand control to younger people with different ideas about access and the

benefits of sports

‘We get an annual grant from the mosque and we have membership and our

revenue is exceeding 70-80 grand. Our executive committee has always been

supportive and we get a grant and we have a property we lease out and half of the

rent comes to our youth body. The great thing about my community is they’re

handing the reins to young people: a youth led organisation for young people run

by young people. And we have responsibility to go out there and find funds, and if

we do then go out and do it. And that independence and trust goes a long way to

breaking new barriers.’

Sporting Equals, London Regional Forum 2015

On another level, a female football coach from the south of England tells us that

there are similar successful initiatives involving NGBs already working hard at

bringing together different sectors of BME communities, but more needs to be done

in this area:

‘I work with children in the school next door. Part of our work is working with

3FF which brings different faith schools together and gets them to learn by

working with children through football. And through that I am on the faith

committee of the FA and represent Islam and we have nine religions

represented that promote faith and belief in the game. We have developed

resources for clubs that they can use as a toolkit to better understand

religious needs of the game. ‘

Sporting Equals, London Regional Forum 2015

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THE FAILINGS OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC BODIES IN POLICY AND PRACTICE FOR BME COMMUNITIES

Our recent research with public sector and hybrid agencies that have a core responsibility for delivering sport and physical activity to all communities suggests there are serious failings in their understanding of equality issues, their employment practices, their marketing and publicity, and the extent to which they might be able to offer appropriate access to sporting and physical activities for local BME communities. Our research further suggests that many delivery staff and management figures in such bodies still view equality issues as little more than ‘common sense’ requiring little insight or training. It is something of an ‘add on’ to their main service function, rather than a core objective embedded in delivery as required under the 2010 Act. Equality and diversity issues are sometimes seen to be subordinate to, or even to be in conflict with, other priorities.

Frontline staff we spoke to often reported a severe disconnect between what happens in the venues at which they work and existing policies, practices and decision making at the management level of public sector or hybrid deliverers. Often, channels of communication seem unclear and pathways for expressing concerns about equality and diversity (and other) issues are unusually opaque. It is also clear that many providers lack good ‘insider’ knowledge of hard-to-reach groups because they seem unwilling or unable to recruit people from such groups as either volunteers or staff. Our research also reveals that far too little time and resource is devoted to evaluation and reflection on the impact of work that is aimed at ‘hard to reach’ BME communities and to inventive ‘joined up thinking’ about knowledge transmission. The strong focus on attracting the ‘right’ number of users often clouds all other areas of delivery, including those of equality and diversity. They are not central to venue targets or to measurements of staff effectiveness. Often operational staff we talked to were simply not encouraged to feedback on possible service improvement which did not include immediate returns in terms of numbers of service users. The research found that many staff urgently required more awareness raising and updated sessions on equality and diversity matters, particularly those who do not have experience of working across equality groups. Alongside this it was identified that many staff have concerns around understanding terminology and equality barriers and that they required more relevant on-the-job training and more experience in order to gain the knowledge and confidence required to ensure good customer service for all groups and individuals, perhaps especially those drawn from BME communities. Particular concern was often raised by BME staff and by minority ethnic stakeholders we spoke to that some public sector workforces involved in delivering sport and physical activity at local levels simply did not currently reflect the wider community, particularly in senior positions. New approaches are urgently needed here to ensure that information reaches out to those with protected characteristics, and that a much more focused effort is required to make such organisations representative of local communities as a means of building confidence and trust. There was often complacency here, around ensuring

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recruitment strategies were fair and open when in fact outcomes were much more strongly shaped by concerns that those recruited were ‘people like us’ or people who would ‘fit in.’ As public sector or hybrid bodies with responsibility for delivering sport and physical activity at the local level become more ‘commercial’ or face severe resource constraints, this puts those with protected characteristics at a clear disadvantage in relation to other users. A relative lack of focus around equality concerns means that often those who want to engage as part of the mainstream cannot do so as opportunities are not in place to enable equal access. Separate provision in sport and physical activity can be beneficial in increasing participation from some BME groups, by establishing an environment that participants (or their families) feel is safe and appropriate. The preferred approach of DCMS is for mainstreaming in sport but separate provision, where appropriate, as a means to building confidence and capacity before entering mainstream provision, can also be necessary and beneficial. But such bodies need to be geared up to satisfy demand – often a problem.

‘The leagues allow us to be flexible around mosque and Ramadan for example’ Respondent Sporting Equals North Regional Forum 2015

Public sector or hybrid bodies dealing with BME communities need to develop a much deeper understanding of their customers through more rigorous data collection and better monitoring and evaluation of findings. Information such as this is vital across all strands of work and delivery. Our research suggests that current systems and structures do not always work effectively in these sectors. Data is often not analysed or reported and no particular person/group has responsible for evaluating or managing information and filtering this through to service reviews. Where information does exist, it is unlikely to be shared across service areas, resulting in a lack of specialist knowledge to help shape service delivery.

Our research suggests that equality and diversity responsibilities are likely to take a back seat in many public sector or hybrid bodies that are responsible for delivering on sport and physical activity for BME communities. There is often a lack of expertise on equality and diversity policy and on collecting and using data to help convert policy into delivery. There is also often a deep complacency on recruitment issues, and an associated chronic underrepresentation of people from BME backgrounds in senior positions in such bodies. All these issues need to be addressed urgently to ensure greater confidence and more access to local sport and PA for people from BME and other underrepresented sectors.

Theme Seven: Infrastructure

THE BME THIRD SECTOR: AN OVERLOOKED RESOURCE

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An estimated 8,000 BME voluntary and community organisations currently operate in the UK. They are an important, but often overlooked, resource in the drive not only to increase participation in sport, but also to tackle social exclusion and deprivation. Mostly based in inner cities, these organisations serve – mainly but not exclusively – particular BME communities on a neighbourhood, town or local authority basis. Many originate from the complex networks of cultural, religious, economic and kinship ties that bind BME communities together. There are a significant number of local, regional and national strategic infrastructure BME organisations. They usually offer capacity-building support to frontline delivery organisations. These organisations play an active role in advocating change in the policy and practice on the part of mainstream service providers, and many have an involvement or interest in the sports sector. There is also a BME community sports sector comprising around 2,500 organisations that operate outside the mainstream of sport and are largely run by the 10,000 BME sport volunteers. Many of these organisations have their own premises, offering a range of indoor sports, including volleyball, table tennis, badminton, basketball, cricket, five-a-side football, hockey, dance, judo, boxing and weightlifting. Many also have several subsidiaries, for example junior and women’s clubs. As a very experienced and respected Bradford South Asian coach told us, separate local sports development for BMEs in his area has been an important contributor to community identity:

‘Initially when we first started off it was because we were denied access to competitive football and cricket and we had to set up our own clubs or our own leagues. And even now, to a certain extent, people see that as negative but I think it’s been positive. Because where progress has been made within sport, it’s actually been done by the communities; no one from the FA or the ECB or a governing body or the local council have actually come and made things happen. It’s been the communities themselves; it’s been the clubs and individuals because of that initial segregation that we were forced to go through.’

Respondent, Sporting Equals North Regional Forum 2015

A key feature here is the tournaments and leagues that annually reach out to at least 20,000 BME volunteers and players. Their development can largely be attributed to the perceived lack of support from affiliated leagues, discrimination from the sporting community, and a dearth of visible role models involved in decision-making capacities in sport. Many people feel safe and enjoy their sport in such organisations, as this local sports activist affirms:

‘I wouldn’t dream of taking part in sport anywhere other than with my friends at the local community centre. I don’t know where these other clubs are and I would be scared that my English is not good enough to understand the teachers and that they would not understand and respect my culture.’ (Female, 27 years, Somali community), Sporting Equals Insight, 2014

However, while this sector is alive with this kind of passion and commitment, and while there are exceptions, many BME groups and clubs are not really fit for purpose. They

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often have inadequate insurance, unsatisfactory child protection and have weak volunteering policies. Their staff often lack qualifications and suitable facilities are frequently sub-standard and, in general, they are not affiliated to a NGB. At the same time, there is little awareness among them of the opportunities within the mainstream; for example, in terms of coach bursaries, subsidised training, and funding for support for facilities and leagues. While there is a clear need to support NGBs and other delivery organisations to better meet the needs of BME communities, there is also a requirement to build on the existing capacity of the substantial BME sports sector and ensure its more effective resourcing and integration into the mainstream delivery system at local, regional and national levels.

The BME third sector is a vital engagement tool and is one of the key ways in which some of the ‘hardest to reach’ BME communities will continue to access sport. We need to find effective mechanisms to ‘connect up’ these organisations with mainstream provision and resources and with NGBs and local providers, without compromising their energy and independence. But we also need to ensure that we work sensitively and collaboratively for improved standards and greater access for women and girls – sometimes a key barrier – and that this becomes a more established feature of participation and provision in the BME third sector.

The Holford Drive Community Sports HUB in Birmingham (please see case study at

Appendix 2) is an excellent example of a multisport offer across the city connecting the

Council, Health & Wellbeing Board, Community Safety Partnership, governing bodies

and other agencies through local impact. The hub attracts principally BME groups and

local people into multisport activity linked to training and empowerment through links

with the Broadway Academy. It is managed totally by volunteers and has significantly

increased participation from underrepresented groups. To increase its effectiveness

and long term sustainability and to enable it to grow its sporting offer, it needs

additional support and capacity building.

‘Regardless of colour, creed, or background, a piece of grass and a ball can

bring people together’,

Steve Town, Project Officer, Holford Drive Community Sports HUB

Alongside this, the Street Leagues initiative in Birmingham, is another powerful

example of how sport is being used to engage the NEET’s groups providing training

and employment through supported coaching programmes. Programmes like these

have added social value benefits opening up employment pathways, providing role

models people can look up to and, above all, keeping young people engaged, off the

streets, resulting in lower crime and antisocial behaviour.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MORE LOCAL FORMS OF DELIVERY

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The more local delivery of sport – perhaps in multi-sport hubs with new types of

responsive local structures - is identified by these three experienced South Asian

coaches and community workers based in the north of England as a possible way

forward:

‘I think the way forward would be community hubs and in those community

hubs - like we’ve touched on before – partnerships. And in those partnerships

would be the schools, junior clubs, professional clubs, voluntary

organisations, public sector organisations, private sector organisations. And

people from there being on a strategic board. That for me is the way forward.’

‘I think its lack of vision from those organisations, hose clubs. They’ve got

people on their doorstep and their business is ticking over; they don’t want to

go out and do anything extra.’

‘What needs to happen, there needs to be pilot programmes set up. Not

straight away set it up across the country, a best practice programmes. Have

a look at them, see what worked, what didn’t work. This is what worked in this

geographical area but why might it not work in a different geographical area?

What do we need to change? What do we need to adapt? And if a

programme was done like that in 5 different areas in the country over a period

of time 6 months to a year, then look at implementing that in different

communities across the country. I think that is the way forward because we’re

talking about participation.’

Sporting Equals, North Regional Forum 2015

Future strategies need to see the value of sports investment as a broader social investment which can enable young people to gain skills and acquire qualifications alongside reducing crime and antisocial behaviour. The inward investment to support such projects like this are likely to reap long term value to the government, police, local communities – and to young people.

THE FACILITIES PROBLEM

The move to more open-plan provision for sport and physical activity has produced

barriers for some BME groups and, in particular, has reduced access for women which is

impacting on participation and growth. Often facilities do not offer the privacy that some

BME groups and women require to maintain modesty, and are therefore deemed

inaccessible. If facilities are not deemed appropriate by those groups at which they are

aimed, our research concludes that BME people simply become inactive because finding

alternative provision outside home localities is often time consuming, expensive and

culturally problematic.

Issues around facility design range from lack of privacy in changing and showering areas

through to increased visibility due to open plan provision. Subtle changes to design and

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space could make an enormous difference to help reduce physical barriers which are

currently preventing a lot of BME communities from accessing sport.

The ‘women only’ gym in Liverpool has closed making it difficult for women to

exercise, the rest of the facilities are open plan and therefore do not meet the

privacy needs required. All the private and statutory run gyms in Liverpool do not

make or provide provision for private ‘women only’ sessions in swimming, gym use

and gym classes such as aerobics.

Cressida Goding, Youth Development Officer, Liverpool Community Spirit

Sporting Equals Facilities Research, June 2011

Inner city areas which host BME communities often have poor facilities. But subtle

changes to design and space could make an enormous difference in helping to

reduce the physical barriers which are currently preventing a lot of BME

communities, in particular women, from using these local spaces. This needs,

however, to be tackled at the strategic level to ensure future facility provision

becomes more inclusive through inclusive design and structures, ideally via

engagement and consultation with those BME people who are among the most

inactive.

People that we spoke to – like the South Asian sports volunteer quoted below –

recognised that although some South Asian parents still had highly instrumental ideas

about use of leisure time, there had been a generational shift in attitudes towards sport in

the South Asian community. But this was not always matched by available resources and

facilities in inner-city areas.

People of my generation - even at school - if we stayed behind for football training

or cricket practice, we came home and we got a good beating. Why weren’t we

doing work or homework? It was a completely different attitude. I’m passionate

about sport, but now were finding with the next generation, our children, they’re

just like any other kids in this society. They love their sport but they don’t

necessarily have the same access to sport. The traditional form of sport is being

members of clubs. When you look at sport and where it’s provided, it tends to be

out in the suburbs. There are some good examples of inner city stuff, some really

good stuff happening. But for most people living in the city, if you want to play in

sport or be a member of a club you’ve got to go away from the area to take part in

any sport.

Sporting Equals, North Regional Forum 2015

In more affluent north London, even for very successful BME sports clubs accessing

facilities are an acute problem:

‘Schools are very good at this [supporting sport] and my neck of the woods, North-

west London we have an organisation that has 400 members. The problem is

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schools are dominant providers of facilities - of halls - and gyms are only open at

unsociable times and you can’t block book as you have interjections as per the

term. There is a real dearth of facilities that is free at the point of access that can

cater for a club the size of ours.’

Sporting Equals, London Regional Forum 2015

Providing suitable facilities for BME women in North London is a problem:

‘Women prefer private access. I give you an example – swimming. Our members

love to swim, but there is only one suitable facility in the vicinity. Beyond that you

are really having to go a long way out and the local authority don’t provide any.

The ones they do are booked out for long periods of time. Highly oversubscribed

and cost a packet, so members are turning away and booking with their friends.

And we are putting on 7:30 – 9:30 families’ session and are looking at new

facilities. On the bucket list for our new mosque is a swimming pool.’

Sporting Equals London Regional Forum 2015

Theme Eight: Fairness & Equality

NATIONAL GOVERNING BODIES STILL DO NOT TAKE BME COMMUNITIES IN SPORT SERIOUSLY

Our work with NGBs is ongoing and we have begun to see signs of change in their attitudes to BME sport. But too many NGBs have, in the past, treated work with BME communities as a costly, complex and rather unrewarding fringe activity. There is also an assumption that hosting sporting mega-events is money well spent, one of the best ways to inspire all members of UK communities to become more active or to take up sport. Our experience is that for South Asian communities outside of London hosting the Olympic Games in London in 2012 actually had little or no meaningful impact. ‘The Game may as well have been on Mars’, was the way one very experienced South Asian coach from Bradford put it to us in terms of assessing local engagement among British Muslim communities. Many NGBs have been content to work with what they see as their core market: ideally (for them), relatively affluent, White consumers who can offer full parental support for their children in sport and who are primed to offer candidates as transport providers, volunteers, fundraisers and sponsors. This overly-narrow focus needs to change, with a much more intensive focus on relatively disengaged (and often poorer) BME communities. As we have pointed out above, work with BME communities should be treated as a special case that requires special attention. Our extensive work with organisations, and more directly with BME groups over the last few years, confirms that there is a huge opportunity for willing sports providers to attract and engage these untapped or

26

underrepresented markets. We have also learned, however, that sometimes the NGB is not necessarily the only important conduit for increasing local BME participation in sport. Partnership working with private leisure operators, the local authority, and professional sports clubs is also very necessary. Our work on Leaderboard25 shows that NGBs continue to do poorly in recruiting BME individuals as senior administrators and volunteers. The results of the National Governing Bodies Leadership Audit (please see Appendix 3) and a wider research review clearly demonstrates a discrepancy between levels of participation lower down the sports hierarchy and the number of BME individuals who achieve high office and decision-making posts in sport and leisure.

Our experience from working with all kinds of sports organisations highlights the fact that

one of the key ways to effect institutional change is to increase BME employment and

representation at the highest levels in sport. This is confirmed by our focus group work

and echoed by our regional forums with people working in sport at local levels within

BME communities.

Increasing the number of BME people with diverse life experiences in senior positions in

sport would have an immediate and positive effect. Such individuals bring to the table a

practical awareness of the issues and barriers involved, as well as potentially new ways

of working on initiatives. At the same time, their presence creates a more diverse face

for the sport that increases community confidence and opens up both minds and career

pathways for others.

Much more needs to be done to recruit BME staff into the sector and support them

to progress to management levels. Alongside this strategies need to be put in

place to encourage talented individuals from BME communities to become NGB

and local sport board and council members.

A NEW DIRECTION: THE POTENTIAL OF THE INCLUSIVE CLUB MODEL FOR BME COMMUNITIES AND SPORT

Sporting Equals has developed a new programme for building inclusivity across the sport sector by using its unique Inclusive Club Model to encourage and develop more welcoming environments for diverse communities so that they might participate safely in sport, find employment, and take on administrative and volunteering opportunities. This approach focuses on working with sporting bodies and clubs across all the 2010 Act protected characteristics including race, gender faith and disability. The model concentrates on changing organisational cultures by first measuring, and then addressing, the effects of an organisation’s policies, processes and practices on equality issues.

25

www.leaderboard.co.uk;

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Using the Inclusive Club Model involves consulting employees, local stakeholders and potential consumers and working with this ‘community of interests’ to produce a much more pluralistic, inclusive and representative sporting culture, one with a collective sense of ‘ownership’ among all communities. The Inclusive Club perspective aims to focus strongly on the business case for promoting greater diversity by highlighting the commercial opportunities in being more inclusive i.e. potentially accessing more members, more sponsors, more spectators and more talent. In turn this can help build confidence in clubs and sports organisations to invest into building more inclusive and responsive sporting and physical activity environments.

We need to work much more intensively over a period of time, using approaches such as the Inclusive Club Model, with sports clubs, NGBs and sporting organisations. This will help them develop more welcoming environments for BME and other communities in ways that will mean the latter can play their full role in sport as competitors, administrators, employees or volunteers.

CREATING POSITIVE ROLE MODELS AND RECOGNISNG TALENT

Our research identified that many people identified with role models particularly those from similar backgrounds however there are lack of BME role models across sports sector and more positive role models are needed to help motivate and inspire young people to take up sport. Alongside this it is felt that not enough is being done to recognise BME talent to help inspire the next generation of young people into sport. Last year Sporting Equals launched the British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSA) – see Appendix 4) to help celebrate diversity, recognise talent not only at the elite level but also at the grass roots level to help nurture young people enabling them to aspire to the highest levels. Ruqsana Begum, a female muslim, is professional Muay Thai kickboxer and captain of the British Muay Thai Team comments;

‘To be part of the first ever British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards was a great privilege and has enabled me to receive support in becoming world champion which will hopefully inspire more black, Asian and minority ethnic women to take part’.

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6. Moving Forward - A New Approach

The Sporting Equals/Leicester University research suggests that experiences and perceptions around racism, exclusion, lack of equal opportunities and the impact of social status all perpetuate negative sentiments among large sections of UK BME communities around their possibilities for engagement in sport and physical activities in the current sporting infrastructure. Addressing these issues should be among our key priorities for getting more British people active. To increase participation among BME communities it is important to develop more inclusive and accessible opportunities and facilities. This will include: having informed and knowledgeable staff drawn from all communities; developing a more positive sporting environment for BME communities, especially, women; ensuring inclusion and culturally sensitive services and better marketing of them; expanding equality of opportunity for BME communities into representative roles in sport; providing more routes into employment into senior positions; and offering good quality, affordable facilities, especially in the urban areas where BME communities are most concentrated. Alongside all this, addressing the key factors that increase health risks for the BME community is crucial. Consequently, promoting the benefits to health of increased physical activity must be a high priority. Because of their relative inactivity and certain lifestyle factors, sections of BME communities are especially missing out on the benefits that being active can bring. There is a clear need for more targeted programmes, developed with local BME input and support, to engage BME communities and BME disabled communities in health-based physical activity and to connect mainstream services more directly to communities, for example through more local governance of sport and through faith and community based settings. This more inclusive, preventative approach can help link directly to government targets around disease prevention, reducing overall health costs to the NHS, and helping to promote wider health outcomes. The BME third sector is overlooked when it comes to provision and there is a need for greater empowerment of BME ‘shadow leagues', local BME clubs and third sector voluntary organisations - The BME third sector is a vital engagement tool and one of the key ways in which some of the ‘hardest to engage’ BME communities will continue to access sport - this sector needs to be connected with mainstream provision and resources, NGBs and local providers, without compromising their energy and independence. Our research indicates that often these groups are operating independently and in relative isolation from mainstream structures. They are often lacking support and local BME organisations are not always fit for purpose, with six out of ten having never head of an NGB or a CSP. Those which do know about such bodies often find them distant and unappealing, with no familiar faces drawn from their own communities. Future strategy needs to focus strongly on these problems and on the BME third sector and its vital role in growing sports participation. Emphasis needs to focus on capacity building for groups and empowering communities to enable them to be at the forefront of expanding sporting offers.

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We estimate here are over 8,000 BME organisations delivering to a range of different BME communities in the UK. For many of the hardest-to-reach BME groups (new migrants; those with specific faith and cultural needs; women; those where English is not their first language), it is through these groups that participation in sport can grow. Sporting Equals works now to support NGBs and CSPs in accessing these local BME groups to help deliver and expand sporting offers. However, frankly, our work is only scratching the surface of the problem and servicing a tiny proportion of the latent demand for change.

Sporting Equals research identified that for younger BME groups (males and females) technology was at the forefront of how they live their lives. Reaching out to ethnic minorities can be more accessible through the use of social media sites. Especially when 50% of ethnic communities are frequent users of online platforms. Multi cultural Britons are also more likely to spend more money on the latest technologies, such as smart phones meaning that reaching them through the use of technology is easier than other forms of communication.26 Sports providers need to reposition marketing and communication campaigns to help reach these audiences.

Sporting Equals recognises the important part that sport can play in bringing communities and different ethnicity and faith groups together and we are looking to work more closely with government departments and agencies to use sporting initiatives more effectively to encourage greater social integration, develop community cohesion and enable more young people to develop skills through training and employment. This can only be done however with cross-departmental support and agencies working together more coherently, especially at the local level.

Models, such as the Street Leagues initiative, that are using sport as an avenue to engage NEETS groups and provide training and employment opportunities for BME and other vulnerable young people have considerable scalable potential. Projects such as The Hub in Birmingham also offer considerable potential because they bring together a number of different sports and they offer some control and the involvement of BME people in managing their own facilities at the local level. Given the right kind of resourcing and support, and as part of a wider package of engagement, they are likely to make a significant impact in terms of increasing activity and participation and reducing antisocial behaviour by supporting at risk young people into sport, employment and volunteering opportunities.

In short, we need to work much more intensively and much more imaginatively and flexibly with the BME sector at the local level to offer a real sense of ownership and hope for their greater involvement in sport and physical activity. Using approaches such as Sporting Equals’ Inclusive Club Model to embed equality into existing systems and networks can help ensure more equal opportunity and more access for all sections of the community.

Lastly, we might stress the need for sustainable funding for bodies working in this

difficult and resource intensive area and also for local BME Groups working to

deliver sport and physical activities in hard-to-reach communities. Funding for just

one year or even two years is energy sapping and inefficient and is unlikely to

26

http://gottabemarketing.co.uk/why-invest-in-ethnicmarketing/ (accessed 1.10.15)

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produce long term change. Longer term funding can help create a systemic change

and offer sustained improvement.

Organisations such as Sporting Equals can help facilitate access to the BME third sector and help provide the necessary environment to promote and ensure better integration of the BME sports sector within the mainstream delivery systems for sport. Opportunities exists to create more flexible forms of BME engagement at local and regional levels, for example BME sports hubs similar to the Birmingham model to enable cross collaboration and partnerships and to empower BME communities at a local level. However more infrastructural support is required to help capacity build BME sports sector organisations to make them fit for purpose and to help deliver/expand quality sporting opportunities. This is particularly important particularly in the larger UK cities such as Birmingham, London and Manchester where, in some wards BME communities are highly concentrated and are often suffering high levels of disadvantage