Tracey Crouch, the new sports minister, has certainly not been hesitant in voicing strong opinions and concerns since being appointed in June (see interview with Crouch on page 38-40).
Given her background as a coach of a girl’s youth football team, it was not surprising that her first pronouncements dealt with the national game and specifically how little of the Premier League’s television income goes to the grass-roots to improve facilities. The new TV deal is expected to exceed £8bn from 2016-17, once foreign rights are signed, and Crouch wants the Premier League to increase the £1bn it is planning to distribute to clubs and facilities, saying that she is “genuinely appalled” at how small amount this is.
She says: “The £1bn includes parachute payments for relegated clubs, so we can expect around a third to go to the grassroots. That is divided in various ways so by the time you get down to talking about artificial pitches, it’s not very much money at all. I want to see a lot more from Europe’s wealthiest league.”
The Premier League says it already distributes more in “good causes” than any other football league, that it’s not a charity and the clubs need to keep so much money to retain and attract the best players. Whenever there has been a stand-off between the government and football authorities in the past, there has always been the implied threat of the imposition of a Football Commissioner on the game unless the government gets its way. It will be fascinating to see how long it will be before this idea resurfaces.
Crouch was equally outspoken about the drop in mass participation in physical activity. Sport England in June reported that 220,000 fewer people were taking regular exercise than 12 months ago, although the number of regular participants still exceeded 15.5 million, more than it was before the 2012 Olympics.
Most striking was the drop in swimming with 144,200 fewer people swimming on a weekly basis than six months ago, although it remains Britain’s most popular participation activity with 2.5 million people taking part. Attending a gym fell by 150,000. Running, basketball and tennis slightly increased their numbers while figures for most of the standard team games were static.
Crouch said: “The recent downward trend in participation has demonstrated the current approach has had its day. It’s not the return we expect for a large investment of public money. I’m going to develop a new strategy for sport as a matter of urgency.”
Part of this formal review, which is already underway, will involve a more joined up approach to sport and physical activity across Whitehall, especially the Ministry of Health. Crouch will also be talking to officials from national governing bodies, organisations such as Sport England, and anyone else who is considered relevant. It is expected to last several months with a possible conclusion at the end of 2015.
Among the areas the review could look at is how to use social media, such as Facebook, to attract youngsters into sport. Swimming, where the ASA has a new CEO in Adam Paker, needs to encourage more swimming pool operators to develop team-based activities for adults, particularly the elderly.
At the moment, swimming is largely divided between clubs, which cater for competition, leaving the vast majority of recreational swimmers to their own devices. Athletics, with the success of the Saturday Park Runs, should point the way for swimming. More pools should have recreational sessions for groups of people, with attendants helping individuals improve their stroke.
One of the legacies of 2012 was meant to be a rise in the number of people becoming active. Crouch’s review must ensure that this takes place.