Leeds Declaration Momentum

The Leeds Declaration on Community Sport for Development &
Diplomacy is gathering momentum, with over 30 individuals and organisations associating with it.

Tom Williams, Dr Jo Clarke, J Simon Rofe and I plan to officially launch it before the end of the year with an online event to discuss how best to realise the three commitments to: 1) strengthen the community sport sector; 2) increase advocacy and 3) build an understanding of the potential relationship between community sport and diplomacy.

Please drop me an email at chris.lomax@participateworld.org if you would also like to associate with the Declaration. For ease, the text is as follows and can also be found on ConnectSport CIC's website.

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Community sport refers to community-led and delivered initiatives centred on physical activity, recreation, and sport.

Community sport transforms the world for the better. Its benefits are wide-ranging; improving individual health, reducing isolation, building skills, and strengthening communities.

We celebrate the thousands of practitioners and volunteers leading this work across the UK.

Community sport organisations reach millions of people across thousands of locations, leaving individuals healthier, happier, better supported, more educated, more employable and more connected. Communities themselves are stronger as a result and the resulting social value generates significant savings to statutory services in health and social care.

There is however so much more that UK community sport could deliver, with better sustained support and recognition, and working better together at pace and scale, to address the most pressing societal issues we face.

In addition, there already exist examples of UK community sport organisations working collaboratively with other organisations or communities around the world.

The relationship between community sport and diplomacy is underdeveloped and underutilised in enhancing social impact across the global community.

We therefore commit to:

1. Strengthening the sector: We will come together as community sport
practitioners, policy makers, researchers and other interested stakeholders across the UK, creating opportunities for peer support, collaboration, and shared learning.

2. Recognition and support: We will work with relevant stakeholders to advocate for UK community sport organisations to be better supported, more widely recognised, and appropriately valued.

3. Sport and diplomacy: We will develop our understanding of the value of
combining community sport with diplomatic practice for mutual social benefit in the UK and internationally.

There are huge opportunities ahead. Together, we look forward to advancing The Leeds Declaration on Community Sport for Development & Diplomacy, ensuring community sport continues to improve lives, strengthen societies, and build bridges across borders.

September 2025, Leeds, United Kingdom.