370,000 children hit by sports club cuts in West Midlands

Analysis into the impact of Covid-19 on young people has found that cities including Birmingham and Wolverhampton, where a higher proportion of children live in low-income households, have been harder hit than the rest of the UK.

It says that in the West Midlands, almost 370,000 children are not currently getting their recommended 60 minutes of exercise per day. This amounts to 45 per cent of all children in the region, and is largely due to a drop in the number of grassroots sports and recreational clubs available for children to take part in.

Research has shown that vital extra-curricular activities have been suspended in 72 per cent of primary schools nationally for the current academic year.

Children who stay active are 15.5 times less likely to suffer from obesity than those who don’t. Inactivity also effects mental health. Data shows that children who regularly play team sports feel six per cent happier and 12 per cent more satisfied with life on average when compared to those who don’t play sport.

Sports organisations have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic, with research showing that UK sports clubs lost as many as 60 per cent of their members and 96 per cent of all grassroots football clubs have seen a reduction in income during the pandemic due to lack of fundraising opportunities and loss of sponsorship.

It is estimated that 240,000 fewer children will be able to swim 25 metres by the end of this academic year as a result of suspended swimming lessons and leisure centre closures. Similarly, it’s estimated that 73 per cent of gymnastics clubs are at risk, with 55 percent facing permanent closure.10

The Scout Association claims that more than 500 Scout groups are at risk of closure due to fundraising challenges, whilst a third of music groups report that they are working with fewer children as a result of Covid-19.

Dan Schofield, chief executive at PlayFundWin.com, the digital fundraising platform which carried out the research, said: “We know just how important grassroots clubs and organisations are for maintaining young people’s mental and physical wellbeing. With so many clubs across the nation reaching crisis point, fundraising is vital in order to preserve these valued institutions and provide much needed resources and equipment, such as defibrillators."