We invest in and provide a range of services to national governing bodies to encourage more people to play sport and be physically active.
To help the sports sector continue to improve and evolve, we share our expertise to help our colleagues, partners and stakeholders improve the way they govern sports.
We also support national governing bodies (NGBs) by establishing frameworks that make it easier for them to access specialist services, and often act in a consultancy role on areas including commercial, innovation and programme development.
The Knowledge Hub is a platform that we use to share knowledge and best practice, and to encourage collaboration across NGBs and other professional entities that receive core market funding from us.
Access to the site is therefore currently restricted to organisations that receive our core market funding. If you’re unsure whether your organisation has access to the site, please email us at [email protected].
The Knowledge Hub features the following:
Please note that we manage and moderate access to the site.
Developed alongside UK Sport and launched in October 2016, the Code for Sports Governance sets out the levels of transparency, accountability and financial integrity you’ll be required to meet if you’re applying for government or National Lottery funding.
Our Evaluation Framework website will help you evaluate funding streams and projects effectively, and ensure you get maximum value from measurement and evaluation.
It has easy-to-follow guidance and resources that you can use or adapt alongside your own tools to develop the right approach specific to your organisation.
The Sport and National Governing Body (NGB) Recognition Process is currently closed to all new applications while the UK sports councils (Sport England, Sport Northern Ireland, sportscotland, Sport Wales and UK Sport) undertake a review of the recognition policy and process.
We expect to re-open the process by Spring 2026. Please check back here for further updates.
Our intention was to re-open the process in Summer 2025. However, the need to ensure that the new recognition policy is suitable for all involved and, in order to comply with statutory consultation timelines, it's been necessary to re-schedule this.
We appreciate that this delay may be frustrating to NGBs that are eager to apply for recognition. In the meantime, we encourage them to continue developing their sports and their organisation’s governance.
You may wish to refer to the previous Recognition Policy (2017), and its associated Applicant Guidance Document, to gain an understanding of the criteria we previously required NGBs to meet in order to become recognised – these can be found below.
There's also helpful information in the Code for Sports Governance.
While the Code is aimed at organisations we fund, its requirements can act as a useful guide to any organisation that wants to improve its corporate governance.
Successful recognition applicants have been expected to meet the equivalent of Tier 1 of the Code.
You may wish to refer to the previous Recognition Policy (2017), and its associated Applicant Guidance Document, to gain an understanding of the criteria we previously required NGBs to meet in order to become recognised - these can be found below.
There's also helpful information in the Code for Sports Governance.
While the Code is aimed at organisations we fund, its requirements can act as a useful guide to any organisation that wants to improve its corporate governance.
Successful recognition applicants have been expected to meet the equivalent of Tier 1 of the Code.
Our complaints procedure sets out how you can complain about something done by us, or a funded or recognised national governing body, or another organisation we fund.
We’ll keep all complaints confidential and only involve as many personnel or external parties as necessary.
If you make a complaint, we’ll treat you with respect and we expect you to treat our staff the same way. Making a complaint will not affect the level of service you receive from us.
A list of recognised sports and links to the websites of the national governing bodies recognised by Sport England can be found below.
A list of all the national governing bodies recognised by all the UK Sports Councils, can be found here.
For funding purposes, sports marked with an asterisk (*) are deemed high risk to participants and, as such, membership or affiliation to a national governing body recognised by us will be required.
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Aikido* | |
| Air sports* | |
| American football | |
| Angling | |
| Aquathlon |
|
| Archery* | |
| Arm wrestling |
|
| Artistic skating (roller) |
|
| Athletics | |
| Australian rules football |
|
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| BMX |
|
| Badminton | |
| Ballooning* |
|
| Ballroom dancing |
|
| Baseball |
|
| Basketball | |
| Baton twirling |
|
| Biathlon* | |
| Bicycle polo |
|
| Billiards |
|
| Bobsleigh* | |
| Boccia | |
| Bowls | |
| Boxing* | |
| Brazilian Jiu Jitsu* |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Camogie |
|
| Canoeing* | |
| Caving* | |
| Cheerleading* |
|
| Chinese martial arts* | |
| Clay pigeon shooting* |
|
| Climbing* |
|
| Cricket | |
| Croquet | |
| Curling | |
| Cycling |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Dance sport |
|
| Darts |
|
| Disability sport | |
| Diving |
|
| Dodgeball |
|
| Dragon boat racing | |
| Duathlon |
|
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Equestrian* | |
| Exercise, movement and dance |
|
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Fencing* | |
| Fives | |
| Floorball |
|
| Folk dancing |
|
| Football | |
| Futsal |
|
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Gaelic football |
|
| Gliding* |
|
| Goalball | |
| Golf | |
| Gymnastics* |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Handball | |
| Handball (Gaelic) |
|
| Hang gliding and paragliding* |
|
| Harness racing* |
|
| Highland games |
|
| Hockey | |
| Horse racing* | |
| Horse riding* |
|
| Hovercraft racing | |
| Hurling |
|
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Ice hockey | |
| Ice skating |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Jet skiing* |
|
| Ju jitsu* | |
| Judo* |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Kabaddi |
|
| Karate* |
|
| Kayaking* |
|
| Keep fit |
|
| Kendo* | |
| Kickboxing* | |
| Kite Surfing* | |
| Kneeboarding* |
|
| Korfball |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Lacrosse | |
| Land-sailing/yachting |
|
| Life saving* | |
| Luge* |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Model aircraft flying |
|
| Modern pentathlon* | |
| Motor cruising |
|
| Motor cycling* | |
| Motor sports* | |
| Mountaineering* | |
| Movement and dance |
|
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Netball |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Octopush* |
|
| Orienteering |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Padel | |
| Parachuting* |
|
| Parkour* | |
| Petanque | |
| Pickleball | |
| Polo* | |
| Polocrosse* |
|
| Pool | |
| Powerboating (recreational)* |
|
| Powerlifting |
|
| Puck hockey (roller) |
|
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Quoits |
|
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Racketball (Squash57) |
|
| Rackets | |
| Rafting* |
|
| Rambling | |
| Real tennis | |
| Roller derby |
|
| Roller sports | |
| Rounders | |
| Rowing | |
| Rugby league | |
| Rugby union |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Sailing and yachting* | |
| Sand and land yachting | |
| Shinty |
|
| Shooting* (air, clay target, crossbow, muzzle loading, pistol, rifle and target) | |
| Show jumping* |
|
| Skateboarding |
|
| Skater hockey (roller) |
|
| Skiing* | |
| Skipping |
|
| Skittles | |
| Snooker and billiards | |
| Snowboarding* |
|
| Softball |
|
| Sombo* |
|
| Speed skating (roller) |
|
| Speedway* |
|
| Squash | |
| Stand-up paddleboarding* | |
| Stoolball | |
| Sub aqua* | |
| Surf life saving* | |
| Surfing* | |
| Swimming and diving |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Table tennis | |
| Taekwondo* |
|
| Tang Soo Do* | |
| Tennis | |
| Tenpin bowling | |
| Touch Rugby | |
| Trampolining* |
|
| Triathlon | |
| Tug of war |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Ultimate (frisbee) |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Volleyball |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Wakeboarding* |
|
| Water polo |
|
| Water skiing* | |
| Weightlifting | |
| Wheelchair basketball | |
| Wheelchair rugby | |
| Windsurfing* |
|
| Wrestling* |
| Recognised sports | National governing bodies |
|---|---|
| Yoga |
Our funding for national governing bodies (NGBs) has different objectives depending on the NGB involved. For example, while most are funded to support people who are regularly active, some are also funded to help inactive people into sport and physical activity, while others are funded to support those who are fairly active (meaning they don’t do quite enough activity to meet the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines).
Across the 49 NGBs we funded during our 2017-2021 strategy period, there were 88 diversity targets split between women and girls, lower socio-economic groups, disability, older people, people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, and people who identify as LGBT+.
A key element of these investments is to ensure sustainability for our partners, both by being more efficient with the existing resources available and being able to find funding from a variety of sources.
All the funding awarded since April 2017 followed detailed discussions with each governing body about what contribution they could make to our strategy.
Receipt of funding was also conditional on the organisation meeting the requirements in our Code for Sports Governance.
In 2020, due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, we extended funding for existing partners through the 2021/22 financial year.
We've invested more than £55 million of National Lottery money in netball-specific projects over the last decade. This has included contributing to the elite Vitality Roses, as well as supporting the Back to Netball campaign, which has seen more than 110,000 people get back into the sport.
Back to Netball sessions are running across England and give women of all ages a gentle re-introduction to the sport. Run by passionate and enthusiastic coaches, sessions cover the basics of the game.
For those who like rugby but not the full contact version, the RFU, through our investment, has created more opportunities to play informal, social and non-contact touch rugby, including more chances to play rugby sevens around the country.
O2 Touch is a fun and friendly environment for both men and women of all abilities to get involved in touch rugby.
This investment guide explains our approach to tackling inactivity, with support and guidance for organisations who'd like to work with us.
We’ve compiled a series of questions and answers to help your organisation or project achieve its goals while creating a more enjoyable, meaningful volunteering experience for all.
To ensure people who are engaged in sport and physical activity have the best possible experience, the workforce must be recruited, developed and supported in the right way.
Our vision for sports clubs is to help them create great experiences for all in high quality, safe and sustainable environments.
Safeguarding advice and guidance for parents, carers, organisations, associations, clubs, activity providers, instructors, teachers, coaches and leaders.
See our advice on designing high-quality facilities, as well as guidance on planning applications that impact sporting provision, and our playing fields policy.
Together with UK Sport, we co-commissioned a fully independent review into allegations of abuse in gymnastics.
The Review was led by Anne Whyte QC, and it heard from individual gymnasts, parents, carers or guardians of gymnasts, gymnastics coaches, British Gymnastics staff or former staff and any other organisations and individuals who wanted to provide information.
The Review was published on 16 June 2022 and is available to read on the Whyte Review website.
Please note: The Review concerns some sensitive and upsetting information. For some, including those who have personal experience of harm or abuse, this may be distressing.
As a publicly funded sports council, we're bound to the UK's National Anti-Doping Policy (NADP) which is managed and implemented by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD).
The purpose of the NADP is to set out the policy objectives and requirements of the UK government and the devolved administrations, in the field of anti-doping in sport.
We support the work of UKAD by making compliance with the NADP a condition of all our funding.
As Sport England:
You can find out exactly how we'll look after your personal data, but rest assured we’ll only use it to make sure you receive our newsletter, to understand how you interact with our newsletter, and to provide administrative information about our newsletter.
