Youth Charter Response to DCMS £900 Million Sport Investment Announcement

The Youth Charter welcomes the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s announcement of a £900 million investment into UK sport as a timely and much-needed commitment to both grassroots community development and the staging of world-class events.

We particularly commend the allocation of £400 million to community sports facilities, with a clear emphasis on increasing participation among under-represented groups, including women and girls, ethnic communities, and people with disabilities. This aligns closely with our mission to deliver inclusive, accessible sport-for-development programmes that address inequality and social injustice.

As an organisation with over 30 years of experience using sport, culture and the arts to tackle the root causes of youth disaffection and disengagement, we see this investment as an opportunity to leverage sport as a tool for education, health, employment and social cohesion in communities too often left behind.

We also welcome the £500 million investment in world-class events such as UEFA Euro 2028 and the Tour de France Grand Départ 2027. While these events are vital for economic regeneration and international recognition, we urge a legacy-first approach — ensuring that the social impact of such events is deeply felt at the community level long after the final whistle has blown.

We are encouraged by UK Active’s call for co-designing a strategy to ensure resources are effectively channelled, and we echo this sentiment. The Youth Charter stands ready to collaborate with DCMS, Sport England, UK Active and other partners to co-create a Community Campus Legacy Framework, embedding investment within long-term, place-based community development plans. These should be focused on measurable outcomes aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Sport for Development and Peace agenda, and the government’s Plan for Change.

In particular, we advocate for:

• Community Campus Hubs that combine sport, physical activity, education, digital inclusion and mental health services in areas of high deprivation.

• Youth-led engagement and leadership programmes that empower young people to shape and deliver local solutions.

• A legacy impact framework that measures not only participation and medal counts, but the transformation of lives and communities.

We also note the potential bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2035, which presents a vital opportunity to accelerate gender equity in sport. We urge DCMS to ensure that community engagement, participation and representation are front and centre in any future major event strategy.

As we prepare for a generational celebration of sport in the build-up to 2032, the Youth Charter remains committed to working with all stakeholders to turn this funding into lasting, transformational change across the UK’s communities.

Together, we can ensure that sport is not only played, but lived — as a force for social good.

Youth Charter Trustees, Executive & Youth Ambassadors