£5.5 million plan to get local people more active

A 10-year plan to level up access to sport and physical activity across the West Midlands to help improve residents' physical and mental health has been launched by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and Sport England.

As part of a new partnership, announced to mark the first anniversary of the Commonwealth Games, the WMCA and Sport England will work closer than ever before to make it easier for people from all parts of society to walk, cycle and take part in exercise and play sport more frequently.

They will identify and work with groups in the West Midlands who are least active in support of the shared goal of reducing the health inequalities that exist across the region - and highlighted in the WMCA's Health of the Region report and the recently published West Midlands Mental Health Commission report.

The West Midlands has some of the highest levels of physical inactivity in England - with one third of children and over half of adults doing less than the recommended 30 minutes of daily physical activity.

The partnership was announced by Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA chair, and Chris Boardman, Sport England chair, accompanied by Haniyah Kousar, the UK's first female Muslim wrestling coach who is based at Impact Fitness Academy in Tyseley.

It will be backed by an initial £5.5 million of joint funding from the WMCA's Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund and National Lottery funding administered by Sport England.

The Mayor said: “We know from work undertaken by the West Midlands Combined Authority - including the Health of the Region report and Mental Health Commission - that there are unfortunately barriers that too many local people face when it comes to taking part in sport and physical activity.

“I'm determined to address these health inequalities and this partnership with Sport England will help us in that vital effort.”

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding took place at Impact Fitness Academy in Tyseley, which runs combat sports such as freestyle wrestling and boxing, with 130 registered participants.

Haniyha Kousar was introduced to martial arts and Impact Fitness Academy by her elder brothers, and having taken a particular interest in wrestling she now runs female-only wrestling classes at Impact Fitness Academy to help encourage more Muslim women to get active and open pathways for them into the sport.

She said: “As a Muslim woman I have noticed the barriers that we face in terms of both religion and culture.

“Even just with wrestling there are lots of things holding us back, such as clothing not catering to Muslims, with restrictions on covering, and the majority of classes being mixed, even for adults.

“So at Impact we've worked hard to create a space to allow women and girls to get into wrestling, even if just to keep fit and have fun. A space for females only to feel comfortable.”

Enquiries about the Fund should be emailed to [email protected].

Pictured: Chris Boardman, sport england chair, and Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), sign the Memorandum of Understanding at Impact Fitness Academy in Tyseley, Birmingham.