Sport and Adult Mass Participation in England

Levels of adult mass participation in sport and physical activity vary considerably between continents and countries. This chapter, therefore, takes England, specifically, as an example of how policy approaches for adult mass participation in sport and physical activity have evolved, focusing specifically on the period of 2010–2024. Having identified levels of participation, the chapter examines government policy and the work of Sport England, the lead agency for developing participation. The chapter examines four key influences which have and will continue to impact participation levels – health inequalities, the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, and the impact on the sports development workforce – and concludes with a brief assessment of the continued challenge of raising participation levels noting that, although there has always been considerable amount of work, the causation between policy to increases in participation remains negligible.