Newcastle Eagles and Essential Social Infrastructure
Over the last year, Tom Williams and I have had the privilege to meet inspiring people doing incredible things through community sport. Amazing work is happening right across the UK that often goes under the radar. If we knew more about it, perhaps we’d feel more confident about what the future could look like. With a bit more support and recognition, even more good will happen through community sport.
Last night I went to my first basketball match: Newcastle Eagles vs Leicester Riders. The basketball was great, but I was even more struck by the multigenerational support for the club, with its arena embedded in a residential part of the city (Newcastle seems to do that amazingly well).
Tom and I were lucky enough to chat with Paul Blake, owner at the Eagles, after the match. Paul explained how he built the club through deep, sustained community engagement—from school outreach to making the club open and accessible as a place to play and come together.
I’d love to spend more time with Paul to understand how he has created and runs such an incredible, professional yet deeply community focussed club. I think there’s huge potential for his model to work with communities around the world for greater social good and global cohesion. Thank you as well to Alex Craig at Muckle for listening to our Participate World plans, including our exciting Community Sport Accelerator, whilst we were in Newcastle.
Our Newcastle trip comes off the back of recently attending the EFL in the Community annual awards at the Houses of Parliament. Kudos to Sally Jameson MP for hosting and providing welcome political support for the power of community sport. Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, PLYMOUTH ARGYLE FOOTBALL IN THE COMMUNITY TRUST and Notts County Foundations won divisional awards for impactful projects supporting men’s mental health, neurodivergent children and support after baby loss.
It’s staggering when you see the collective impact of EFL in the Community—£1.24b of social value last season—the work of clubs like Newcastle Eagles, and other organisations up and down the UK, including those associated with the Leeds Declaration of Community Sport for Development and Diplomacy.
Whether it is a young person finding direction in a boxing gym, a woman returning to running, someone finding strength in movement living with and beyond cancer, the entry points may differ, but community sport provides consistent impact.
Collectively, these organisations create a practical, preventative network that improves health, rebuilds confidence, reduces loneliness, connects people into health, employment and other services, and strengthens safer, more resilient neighbourhoods—often at lower cost, and earlier, than formal systems can respond.
Community sport is therefore not a ‘nice to have’. It is essential social infrastructure—and fun!
Which is why we’re so proud to support and accelerate its impact in the UK and around the world.
