London Youth Sports Impact Report – Sport as a source of hope for young Londoners
13 March 2023
At London Youth we are proud of our commitment to get young people active, and of the impact we’ve seen over the last few years. We are delighted to share with you the 2021/22 London Youth Sports Impact Report and the 2019/22 London Youth Sports External Evaluation Report from Shepherd and Moyes. Both reports reflect the reach, delivery and impact of our sports work supporting underserved young Londoners, youth professionals and grassroots community youth organisations.
“London Youth’s sports programme impact extends beyond just the here and now. It gives us, as youth workers, the tools and connections to make the long-term changes the most vulnerable young people in our community before it’s too late.”
Highlights from the 2021/22 report include:
- 3,528 young people from 27 London boroughs received 72,000 hours of support
- 82% young people supported from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities. 58% living in the top 30% most deprived communities in the country
- Inactivity reduced from 42% to 9%. 92% feel happier. 85% increased confidence
- 500+ hours of additional 1:1 support provided to youth professionals and their organisations
Read the full 2021/22 report here
Highlights from the 2019/22 report include:
- 9,271 young people and 188 community youth organisations directly supported by London Youth sport programmes
- 45% of the young people inactive before taking part
- 468 youth professionals and young leaders provided formal training and leadership development opportunities
- Youth Workers reporting increased knowledge, skills and organisation capacity
Read the full 2019/22 report here
We’ve used the past three years to listen to the voices of young people and youth workers to ensure our sports approach is flexible to meet their needs. We’ll continue to keep doing that, alongside our commitment to work in partnership with local, London and national stakeholders.
John Jones, Sports Development Manager at London Youth said:
“On the surface, it can look like we just support young people to get moving, be that for the first time, and/or by creating opportunities to move more. This remains a key focus of our work, but as these impact reports demonstrate, London Youth’s Sports Development approach is much more that – delivering tangible impact for underserved young Londoners, frontline youth professionals and grassroot community youth organisations.
We are proud of what has been achieved. We are also 100% eyes open to the fact a young Londoners gender, ethnicity and postcode still determine if they benefit from the power of sport and physical activity. And this persistent inequality combined with sustained pressure on youth organiations means we must do more in the coming years with our funders/ and supporters (current and new) to ensure young people have the safety net, support structure and springboard to fulfil their potential.”
We would like to thank London Youth members, our partners and funders, and most importantly the young people who have trusted and supported the London Youth sports team in making a difference.
To learn more about our work, support us, or partner with us, please contact: John Jones, Sports Development Manager – john.jones@londonyouth.org
Read the full 2021/22 report here.
Read the full 2019/22 report here.