Latest Sport England data suggests an alarming drop in the number of people giving up their time to support others to be active, which will only exacerbate already declining activity levels.

A total of 6.6 million people (14% of the adult population) gave up their time to lead activity sessions from November 2020-21, a fall of more than 3.1 million people compared to the year before, and follows a drop in numbers in the years prior to the pandemic.

In response to this worrying data, UK Coaching is leading a nationwide drive to expand the coaching workforce. The campaign will see the organisation engage with seven of the nation's leading sports over the next ten years, to lead a nationwide drive to recruit more coaches and ensure the nation is fully supported to become more active, more often.

The partnership will see UK Coaching joining force with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), UK Athletics and the Home Country Athletics Federations, England Netball, British Gymnastics, England Boxing, Swim England, Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby and Swim Ulster to support them to overcome their specific challenges around coaching recruitment and retention, with a view to significantly increase the coaching workforce over the next ten years.