Local sports activities play a vital role in communities. They provide a medium whereby people can participate actively or can spectate and support.
Sporting activities help promote communication at a grassroots level and facilitate the coming together of local communities for the greater good of all concerned.
Another aspect of local sporting activity and something enjoyed both by those who physically take part and those who prefer to watch, is putting a wager on local athletes and teams. Gambling on sports can be great fun, and by using the right online platform, you can make your bets from anywhere in Europe as long as you gamble responsibly, something that Kate Richardson, MightyTips resident expert in developing and implementing data-driven, profitable sports betting strategies, fully supports.
Annual local community sports activities valued at £107.2 billion
The Sport England website has published a breakdown of the annual social value of local sport and physical activity, which breaks down the figures by region, by active partnerships, and by regional authorities. It tracks three months following the report’s calculation that the overall social worth of physical activity and local community sports across England as a whole is worth a massive £107.2 billion per year.
The CEO of Sport England, Tim Hollingsworth, said: “Our research makes it clear that sport and physical activity must be a major part of the government’s plans to deliver national growth.”
The most popular local sports – rugby and soccer
When we talk about the most popular local sports, the biggest contenders tend to be rugby and soccer. While the professional rugby and soccer leagues attract the biggest followings in terms of spectators, the local community sports scene is just as important, or even more so for many fans.
Without the glitz, glamour, huge sums of money and TV coverage associated with pro sports, many local supporters claim their patronage is more genuine, and they may have a point.
Local Sport Embraces Village Cricket
Image courtesy of Oskar Hagberg on Unsplash
Cricket is another sport which commands huge audiences at both county and national level, too. But it’s also popular on a smaller scale with local communities. There is even a special national cricket competition for village cricket. It’s called the Voneus Village Cup.
The competition began in 1972 when Ben Brocklehurst, the then managing director of The Cricketer, was intrigued by a throwaway comment made by the chairman of the National Cricket Association, Aidan Crawley, who voiced a longing to see village cricket play at Lord’s. So Ben and his wife drummed up a plan for a national tournament, restricted to teams from villages with no more than 2,500 inhabitants, the final of which would be held at the holiest of holies – Lords.
The news was greeted with huge enthusiasm from over 1,000 villages, 795 of which got accepted for the inaugural National Village Championship as it was then known. The team from Troon in Cornwall were the side to beat. They won three of the first five tournaments. Last year’s final (2024) was won by Foxton Granta, who beat Dumbleton.
The most popular participation sports in the UK
According to the Spond.com website, the most popular participation sport in the UK is football, followed by swimming and golf. The complete top ten list looks like this:
The amount wagered on sports per year in Britain
As mentioned earlier, sports enthusiasts enjoy betting on their favourite sports. The participation landscape looks rather different from the betting landscape. The figures shown below represent the year 2022. It’s safe to assume that the sums involved have risen even higher since then.
- Horse racing – £13.4 billion
- Football – £11.4 billion
- Tennis £1.9 billion
- Greyhound racing – £1.4 billion
- Cricket – £800,000
- Golf – £218 million
Most of the money spent on sports betting is wagering at online sportsbooks.
Local Sports and Sports Leagues
Sport is all about competition. It’s what drives participants to strive for better results. One of the best ways to take local sports to a national level in terms of competitiveness is by measuring performance against others in a league table.
Joining a UK Sports League connects communities with other passionate communities across the UK, offering friendly competition and the chance to promote and build local sports communities. You might do so to hone your sporting skills or simply to get more enjoyment from your sports while measuring yourself against others.
Getting help to build and promote local community sports
There are special online platforms that have been created to help communities looking to build or expand their sports activities. A good example is the Sported website. Their delivery team understands sport at its grassroots level and how it can be used to alter young people’s lives and make a real difference in communities across the UK.
As Sebastion Coe said on the SebCoe.com website, “Sport is the most potent social worker in all of our communities. It does things that nothing else can do. It is also the most potent peacemaker.”
Article by James Wright
