A campaign led by the Sport and Recreation Alliance (SRA) is aiming to highlight the value of grassroots sport to the nation ahead of the government’s Spending Review on 25 November.
It is widely expected that the government will cut the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) budget by 40 per cent in the review – resulting in what would be, according to SRA, “a devastating hit on the level of investment into grassroots sport”.
The SRA campaign is encouraging people to take part and “tell chancellor George Osborne how much they value grassroots sport” by posting messages and photos using the tag #GetYourKitOn over social media.
SRA has also set up a dedicated website,
www.GetYourKitOn.team, to which people are able to post a message directly to the Chancellor.
Visitors to
www.GetYourKitOn.team can also upload their image to a social wall of support via a dedicated Facebook page.
Emma Boggis, CEO of SRA, said: “We understand difficult decisions have to be made but cuts of this size would have serious repercussions for grassroots sport. So we are calling for everyone who plays or who has children who play grassroots sport to spend 60 seconds contacting the Chancellor to tell them how much they value our grassroots sport.
“Cutting investment in sport and recreation will have serious consequences in the short term. More significant costs lie further down the line – with a serious impact stored up for health and education budgets as well as a hugely detrimental effect on our economic productivity. Government recognises the need to invest in our national physical infrastructure, but needs to take investment in our population’s health and wellbeing just as seriously.
“The #GetYourKitOn campaign is a fantastic way to show the strength of feeling and passion that keeps grassroots sport functioning in the country, but we need you to act quickly. These decisions are already being made and unless we tell George Osborne that we are united in our support for our community clubs and sports, sport stands to lose out.”
