There has been considerable activity around the Mayor’s ambition to see the North East recognised as the UK’s first Region of Sport. The focus has largely been on big clubs, stadiums, and major events — understandable, because they are visible, tangible, and politically headline-friendly.
But there’s a crucial question that is being overlooked: what is the purpose of sport for the people of the North East?
Sport is far more than spectator events
At its heart, sport is a tool for personal development, health, and community wellbeing. Beyond attendance at matches or hosting major tournaments, sport teaches life skills that last a lifetime: teamwork, resilience, accountability, leadership, and discipline.
Equally important are the management and coaching skills that sport fosters. Learning to lead a team, manage people, deliver coaching sessions, or run community programmes equips participants with transferable skills for work and life. Sports psychology, nutrition, rehabilitation, and structured training all enhance both personal performance and employability.
Accessibility: the test of inclusion
If the Region of Sport is to be truly meaningful, accessibility must be central. That means:
- Participation for all: ensuring children, disabled people, women and girls, and low-income communities have real, equitable access to facilities, coaching, and programmes.
- Access to major events: avoiding tokenism, where communities are excluded or only superficially represented. Tickets, volunteering opportunities, and engagement programmes should be genuinely available to a broad cross-section of the population.
- Physical and social accessibility: considering transport, affordability, and welcoming environments, not just whether a programme exists on paper.
Accessibility is the ultimate test of whether the Region of Sport is inclusive rather than exclusive. Without it, even the best intentions risk reinforcing existing inequalities.
The gap in the Region of Sport narrative
So far, the framing appears to emphasise profile, investment, tourism, and participation numbers, with only passing reference to broader outcomes. There is little discussion of how sport can:
- Support long-term physical and mental health.
- Develop leadership, coaching, and management skills, alongside teamwork and resilience.
- Build community cohesion through volunteering, mentoring, and programme delivery.
- Deliver measurable personal growth, social impact, and equitable access beyond simple participation.
- These outcomes are harder to quantify than ticket sales or TV audiences, but they are arguably far more important for the future prosperity and wellbeing of our communities.
Redefining success
If the North East is to truly be a Region of Sport, success must be measured by the people it benefits, not just the events it hosts:
- Are young people gaining skills, confidence, and resilience?
- Are participants developing leadership, coaching, and management abilities?
- Are underrepresented communities actively engaged and benefiting from programmes and major events?
- Are communities more cohesive, inclusive, and engaged?
- Are opportunities for volunteering, mentoring, and personal growth expanding?
These outcomes require planning, investment, and independent measurement, not just good PR, or big headlines.
People first, not profile
Sport can be transformative, but only if we put people at the centre. Big events, famous clubs, and visitor numbers are the easy story; but the real prize is in every individual who gains skills, confidence, wellbeing, and leadership abilities through sport, and in ensuring those opportunities are accessible to all communities.
For the Region of Sport to mean anything, it should be about enriching lives, building skills, improving health, and creating genuine inclusion, not simply adding another label to the city’s brand. Because the North East needs opportunities — and sport, done properly, can deliver them.
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