From Seeds Mighty Community Sport Oaks Grow

I think I may have helped Tom Williams post his slowest ever 10k time as he obligingly jogged next to me at the Saudi Sports for All Federation - الاتحاد السعودي للرياضة للجميع Riyadh Marathon on Sunday. But then the time didn’t matter. For me and Tom it was all about being part of a mass community event with people from all walks of life moving together.

I hope the 5k and 10k bits of the marathon will act as a catalyst to get more people happily active across Saudi Arabia and, as we said the following day at a panel discussion for a United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Executive Diploma on Sports Mega Events and
Lasting Impact, we have ideas around exactly how to support that.

Thank you to Rabi Maraka and Marçal Jané Garcia at UNITAR for the kind invitation to speak on the panel, chaired by Andreas L. Csonka. I was struck by the commonality of message amongst panellists Nasser Al-Khori, Jonathan Miseroy and Jost Neumann around the need to plant an early patient seed from which sustainable community sport will grow. And importantly, we heard how communities and community sport practitioners are best place to help design and lead projects which could play a part in a lasting legacy from sporting events.

At Participate World, Tom and I have a vision whereby community sport leaders are better able to share knowledge to help communities and governments around the world make the most impact from community sport initiatives. Perhaps one day in the near future, we’ll see cooperation between UK and Saudi community sport leaders, sharing insights on how to create healthy, happy, connected communities through sport. A form of community sport diplomacy in action!

Next week, Tom and I are excited to spend time with Accenture and community sport colleagues to workshop exactly how best we can support the growth and effectiveness of the community sport ecosphere. We’ll also spend time at the FCDO, with I Speak Football and Plinth. But before then, I hope you all have great weekends.