UK Sport unveils bold plan for diversity in elite British athletics
UK Sport has launched a refreshed strategy aiming to unlock talent and drive inclusion across British Olympic and Paralympic sport through 2032. The initiative targets athletes, leaders, fans, and staff to remove structural barriers ensuring success on the world stage.
UK Sport Unveils Bold Plan for Diversity in Elite British Athletics
UK Sport has today revealed its refreshed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy extending through to 2032. This ambitious roadmap is designed to ensure that British Olympic and Paralympic sport attracts, develops, and retains talent from every conceivable background.
Central to this mission is the creation of extraordinary sporting moments that unite and inspire communities across the entire United Kingdom. The new plan reaffirms a commitment to four key priorities: Athletes, Leaders, Fans, and the organisation's own workforce.
Progress and Persistent Challenges
Since 2021, UK Sport and its funded partners have made significant strides in understanding diversity within athletes, boards, and senior leadership. Robust plans were established to drive meaningful change during this period. However, despite these efforts, transformation in many areas remains too slow.
Structural barriers continue to restrict the diversity of talent entering and progressing through high-performance sport, directly impacting the pursuit of success. Representation varies significantly between different sports, with some areas showing no meaningful shift in diversity levels.
Vision for 2032
The refreshed strategy outlines the systemic changes required to sustain success well beyond 2032. The goal is to ensure that British Olympic and Paralympic sport unlocks its full talent potential, inspiring everyone in the UK regardless of their identity or origins.
Leadership Commentary
Sally Munday, Chief Executive of UK Sport, commented on the publication:
"We have made some real progress over the past five years, but too many barriers still prevent people from accessing opportunities across high performance sport. Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. If we are serious about remaining one of the world’s most successful Olympic and Paralympic nations, we must do more to find, develop and retain talented people from every background."She emphasised that the strategy reaffirms their commitment to a high-performance system where individuals can belong and perform at their best as athletes, coaches, leaders, or members of the workforce. Ismail Amla, UK Sport Board member and Chair of the EDI Advisory Panel, added:
"The UK Sport Board is unanimous: building a truly diverse and inclusive high performance system is mission critical. Not just because it is the right thing to do, though it is, but because we are leaving talent on the table every single day that barriers remain in place."Together, these ambitions aim to sustain Team GB and ParalympicsGB success on the global stage while ensuring inclusivity remains at the heart of British sport.