Trevor brooking
The ex-England footballer and chair of Sport England responds to an article by Philip Hensher, who argued that the nation's interest in sport is vastly exaggerated
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Your support makes all the difference.The ex-England footballer and chair of Sport England responds to an article by Philip Hensher, who argued that the nation's interest in sport is vastly exaggerated
The ex-England footballer and chair of Sport England responds to an article by Philip Hensher, who argued that the nation's interest in sport is vastly exaggerated
Apathy is not a word Sport England would use to describe the nation's attitude to sport ("I am going for an Olympic gold medal in apathy", 15 September). This country offers one of the widest ranges of sports in the world, and there is no shortage of people wanting to watch it or to take part.
Sport England's "Young People and Sport" survey showed that there is a huge enthusiasm for sport among today's youngsters. On average, young people spent 7.5 hours per week playing sport. If youngsters want to watch sport on television, then that's a good thing as long as they are also actively playing it.
They may even see a sport that is not normally shown and want to play it, and if it captures their imagination and motivates them, then that has to be encouraged.
More opportunities for sport and PE are needed in schools. If we can encourage young people into regular physical activity and enjoying sport, then we have more chance of their staying active as adults, and of finding tomorrow's potential champions.
There is an increasing aspiration, and an expectation, that our athletes will also compete in high-performance competitions. In 1996, following disappointment at the Atlanta Olympics, we made plans for the World Class Performance programme to fund facilities to train our athletes to compete at élite level.
But, patience is required while the infrastructure for élite sport is put in place. It has taken the French 40 years and the Australians 25 years to get to their current status.
We can do nothing about how an athlete actually performs on the day, but we can provide the support package of facilities, services and funding to athletes to ensure that sportspeople at the highest level get the best preparation possible.
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