Club Leaders

10,000 community sports clubs now have the chance to develop better business skills thanks to Sport England’s innovative new programme, Club Leaders and the best bit is that it is all free.

After an intensive research phase which involved 1,161 leaders of sports clubs, 46 NGBs, 38 CSPs, 30 local authority staff and various other stakeholders Sport England has launched Club Leaders: Better business skills for sport.

Providing training and support to those doing the day-to-day running of community sport, Club Leaders will help create a robust, economically sustainable and enterprising club network. The aim of this project is to help people develop their business skills so that they are better able to assist their clubs realise their full potential, recognising that leading a sports club can be a challenge - particularly in the current economic climate.

Leaders of sports clubs will be able to develop skills in a way that suits them.  Training and support is being delivered by PwC via;

• A dynamic Club Leaders website with elearning modules, discussion forums, news, events and more
• Face to face seminars led by subject matter experts across the country
• One-to-one mentoring to focus on those clubs most in need to get them on the right track
•  A Learning Bus will also tour the country, initially following the route of the Olympic Torch Relay, giving clubs in rural and inner city areas the chance to find out more. This will include the opportunity to speak to Club Leader trainers about the seminars, use one of the free computers to take an e-learning module or apply for the mentoring scheme.

Initially training will be provided in business and financial planning, marketing, governance and facilitates management.  Further modules in these areas and relating to other areas of identified need are currently being developed and are scheduled for launch over the course of 2012.

Club Leaders will complement other initiatives already being offered by Sport England which offer support to sports club leaders, including any programmes provided by county sports partnerships, national governing bodies and those such as Runningsportsand Clubmark.

To find out more, access what’s on offer and see where the bus will be stopping, visit http://www.sportenglandclubleaders.com/