What are these problems that we believe sport can help lessen and erase? The most evident problem we have at the moment is Covid impacts / healthcare concerns but on top of this inequality (racial and social). Sport can have a profound impact on all these things making it the main way for us to progress as a country and this alongside logic is supported with scientific evidence.
The Corona virus has had many negative impacts including deaths, the NHS coming under strain, deterioration in mental health and loss of government money. It has been seen that people who were more inactive and suffered from conditions such as obesity, diabetes type two and coronary heart disease faced much higher mortality rates than their healthier counterparts. Sport has been proven to act as a dual impact and not only treat these illnesses but prevent them in the first place. Therefore to increase the sport participation on a nation wide scale would be to decrease the amount of people rendered in critical condition from Covid and in turn alleviate some of the strain currently placed on the NHS and slow the increasing death count in the Uk. It has also been recognised that mental health has decreased since the lockdowns and there have been studies which show that mental illnesses such as clinical depression and dementia have their risk decreased by 30% as a result of exercise. Finally on this point, recent studies enabled Sport England to declare that for every £1 invested into physical activity gives £4 returns in savings which is critical for a time with budgets and spending under pressure with a greater need more than ever for returns or investments of public money.
Sport is something that can be enjoyed and participated in regardless of race, gender or social status and thus is because it values not people for who they are and what they have come from but where they are now and how well they can perform; the only thing that separates one athlete from another is their physical ability. Team values are promoted across most sport and these transcend race wealth or status and look to work together to push themselves to be the best they can. Furthermore it is indiscriminatory in how most disciplines are judged completely objectively- who can run the fastest etc. which allows people to be judged on how they perform as a person not how they come across.
In conclusion, some of the most prominent issues in our society can be made much less significant by pushing sport more through programs, investments and endorsements to help make our country stronger and more united.
