Investing in inclusive and accessible sports
Alongside our national well-being goal of A Wales of Vibrant Culture & Thriving Welsh Language, Cymru is the only country in the world to recognise cultural well-being as part of a statutory definition for sustainable development.
Positively, in 2023 there was a 39% increase in adults participating in sport three or more times a week, the highest rate recorded by the National Survey for Wales.
But, funding for cultural well-being is often one of the first areas to be cut during budget reviews, despite its contribution to preventing ill-health and reducing inequality, and isn’t accessible for all.
The challenges:
- Budget pressures on public bodies have made culture and leisure services particularly vulnerable.
- We currently lack a long-term sustainable funding model for the cultural sector which is essential to protect and grow it.
- Not everyone in Wales can access culture and sports – we currently rank third from bottom of European countries for spending per person on recreational and sporting services, with rural and low-income households disproportionately missing out.
Through funding available from Sport Wales and the National Lottery Community Fund, more people and communities across Wales are accessing and enjoying inclusive sports.
Sport Wales found that for every £1 they received in funding, £4.44 went back into the economy (2023/24).
With support from Sport Wales and other sports organisations, Foundation 4 Sports Coaching has held Midnight Ramadan sports events in Cardiff, offering basketball, football, table tennis, squash, female-only classes and more from 11pm to 1am, after taraweeh prayers. Hosting more than 250 participants each weekend, the late-night sessions allowed people to come together, socialise and be physically active at more accessible times.
The 30,000th recipient of National Lottery funding from Sport Wales, the new Scarlets & Aberystwyth Wheelchair Rugby Club has been supported to remove barriers to sport for disabled people in the area. With funding for 10 rugby wheelchairs, training equipment and developmental support for volunteer coaches, the Club has allowed people in rural Wales to access inclusive sports.
“It’s always been harder for people in rural Wales to access sport.
We want to provide people with the same opportunities as everyone else so that our young people and future generations can benefit from not just the health and well-being aspects of sport, but also from its social side.”
In Wrexham, Disability Wales Sport have supported goalball taster sessions, a paralympic team sport for blind and partially sighted people, with plans to establish the first visually impaired sport club in North Wales.
Swansea Mosque, the largest mosque in Wales, is supporting local young Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people to get involved in sports, improve their health and build connections. Supported by Cricket Wales, they now have a fully accessible multi-sports hall with a new lift, mesh window coverings, energy efficient lighting and cricket nets, that is also used to host well-being activities for the community.
Farid Ali, Swansea Mosque, Facilities Manager
