UK Deaf Sport is amongst a group of over 120 organisations working in partnership with Sport England to level up access to sport and physical activity across the country.

UK Deaf Sport will receive expertise, support, and an investment of £1,224,870 of government and National Lottery funding from Sport England to co-deliver the ambitious of its 10-year Uniting the Movement strategy.

Sport England research shows that some groups are typically less active – like women, people with long-term health conditions, disabled people, people from ethnically diverse communities and lower socio-economic groups. Right now, the opportunities to get involved in sport and activity – and reap the rewards of being active – depend too much on your background, your gender, your bank balance, and your postcode.

The funding will support UK Deaf Sport to deliver our vision of ‘Every Deaf Person Active and Inspired by Sport and Physical Activity’, by allowing us to create more opportunities for deaf people to participate in sport throughout their lives, and more deaf athletes to perform on the world stage.

This represents an increase in funding from the previous five-year agreement and will enable us to put a core team in place to work with partners to support clubs and communities”

Over £550million is being invested in total, with the partners including UK Deaf Sport receiving funding for up to five years. This new funding model from Sport England provides longer-term financial security as organisations recover and reinvent from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

All partner organisations were selected by Sport England due to their ability to influence change and improvement at the heart of the system they are a part of no matter how big or small. This is the first step on a journey to revolutionise Sport England’s approach to long-term partnerships as it seeks to partner and collaborate with innovative organisations to deliver Uniting the Movement and build a nation where everyone can get active.

Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said: “Sport England’s goal is to get everyone active– no matter who they are, where they live, or what their background is. But we know that certain groups – like those with a disability – are more likely to be inactive. We can only innovate and tackle inequalities effectively by thinking about long-term change; Uniting the Movement is a long-term vision, and our funding approach needs to reflect that. Changes to our funding model will help us achieve our goal, by making it easier for our partners to do what they need to do to level up and deliver.”

Piers Martin, Chair of UK Deaf Sport, said: “UK Deaf Sport very much welcomes this opportunity to partner with Sport England over the next five years. We know that very few deaf people are active, and this support will enable UK Deaf Sport to transform the lives of deaf people through sport and physical activity, working collectively to contribute to Uniting the Movement.”

New partner funding continues commitment to tackling inequalities | Sport England