TSF News

The latest news from the sport feed editors

New podcast with Jacqui Oatley MBE – The Game Changers

written by Hugh

My guest on The Game Changers this week is trailblazing sports presenter Jacqui Oatley.

Jacqui talks about her lifelong obsession with football, how she changed careers at 27 to re-train as a journalist and how lonely and isolated she felt after the hideous media coverage of her being the first female commentator on BBC’s Match of The Day.

Jacqui went on to present the show in 2015, along with the BBC radio’s flagship sports news show Sportsweek. She has also hosted both men’s and women’s Euros and World Cups, now presents football and darts for ITV and recently became the first female host of Sky Sports Sunday Supplement show.

It’s no wonder that in 2016 Jacqui was awarded an MBE for her services to broadcasting and diversity, having also been named as the 8th most influential woman in sport by the Independent.

You can hear Jacqui’s entertaining and inspiring interview here.

I’m so grateful to Barclays for supporting this series of The Game Changers which features eight ‘fearless women in football’, and reinforces Barclays’ huge support for the beautiful game.

Other trailblazing guests in this series include:

Kelly Smith MBE – one of the greatest-ever female players and England Women’s record goal scorer
Dame Sue Campbell – Former Chair of UK Sport and now Director of Women’s Football at The FA
Jo Tongue – Football agent, Director of Women in Football and a tireless campaigner for equality in sport and the media
Maggie Murphy – General Manager at Lewes FC Women, the first football club in the world to pay its male and female players equally
Casey Stoney MBE – Former England captain with over 100 caps, now Manager of Manchester Utd Women
Kelly Simmons MBE – Director of the Women’s Professional Game at The FA
Hope Powell CBE – Trailblazing former England Women’s Football manager and the first woman to be awarded a UEFA Pro LicenseYou can listen to the trailer for series 3 here.

Find out more about the trailblazing guests from all three series here

15th April 2020 0 comment

TSF News

FCN Announce NIKE Partnership

written by Hugh

FCN are pleased to announce our brand new NIKE partnership aimed at supporting the mission of working towards gender equality in high performance coaching.

Over the coming years, NIKE will be supporting the FCN by helping to deliver the new PRO Strategy – Performance, Relationships, Opportunities. This strategy is a unique way of addressing a lack of female coaches in sport, particularly at high performance levels.

The aim is to tackle the issue using a holistic approach, to provide evidence and suggestions for correct interventions and to support coaches along their own coaching journeys. The FCN wants to help build high performing inclusive workforces and cultures that work for everyone and this partnership is a big step forward in ensuring that happens.

Since the FCN was founded in 2014, the main focus has been that of growing the website and social media following in order to create a global network of female coaches and provide inspirational interviews, articles and images of women who coach.

Now, with the support of NIKE, the FCN can begin delivery of impactful and tangible projects which will change the way forward for female coaches wanting to work in high performance sport.

If you would like more information on the work of the FCN over the coming weeks and months, please email us at info@femalecoachingnetwork.com

14th April 2020 0 comment

TSF News

The Game Changers are back…

written by Hugh

We’re excited to announce that Barclays will be supporting the next series of The Game Changers, as our inspirational podcast returns with eight ‘fearless women in football’, reinforcing Barclays’ extensive support for the beautiful game.

The new series launches on April 7 and you can listen to the trailer here.

The Game Changers podcast has been a runaway success since it launched last year, featuring insightful interviews with trailblazing women in sport who knock down barriers for women and girls everywhere.

Previous guests have included Kate Richardon-Walsh OBE, Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson, Chrissie Wellington OBE, Denise Lewis OBE, Lauren Steadman, Clare Balding OBE and Dame Katherine Grainger.

In 2019 Barclays announced the biggest ever sponsorship of women’s sport in the UK, as the Barclays FA Women’s Super League became Europe’s first fully professional women’s football league. Barclays also invested in establishing the Girls’ Football School Partnerships, with the aim of ensuring all girls in England have equal access to football in schools by 2024.

The new Barclays series launches on Tuesday April 7, 2020 and will feature:

Kelly Smith MBE – one of the world’s greatest ever female players and England Women’s record goal scorer
Jacqui Oatley MBE – leading sports broadcaster and the first woman to commentate on BBC’s Match of the Day
Dame Sue Campbell – Former Chair of UK Sport and now Director of Women’s Football at The FA
Jo Tongue – Football agent, Director of Women in Football and a tireless campaigner for equality in sport and the media
Maggie Murphy – General Manager at Lewes FC Women, the first football club in the world to pay its male and female players equally
Casey Stoney MBE – Former England captain with over 100 caps, now Manager of Manchester Utd Women
Kelly Simmons MBE – Director of the Women’s Professional Game at The FA
Hope Powell CBE – Trailblazing former England Women’s Football manager and the first woman to be awarded a UEFA Pro License

1st April 2020 0 comment

TSF News

Tokyo 2020: New dates confirmed – Team GB

written by Hugh

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have today announced the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will now be held from 23rd July to 8th August 2021.

The decision, taken alongside the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Government of Japan based on protecting the health athletes and all involved in the Games, to safeguard athletes and Olympic sport and to fit into the global sporting calendar.

The decision was supported by all International Summer Olympic Sports Federations (IFs) and all the National Olympic Committees (NOCs)

Following today’s decision, the IOC President Thomas Bach said: “I want to thank the International Federations for their unanimous support and the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees for the great partnership and their support in the consultation process over the last few days. I would also like to thank the IOC Athletes’ Commission, with whom we have been in constant contact.

“With this announcement, I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge. Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel.”

30th March 2020 0 comment

TSF News

ANYTIME FITNESS LAUNCH NEW VIRTUAL COACH.CARE.CONNECT PROGRAMME

written by Hugh

During a time of social distancing when more people are staying inside their homes, many people are looking to find alternate ways to boost their health and fitness throughout this uncertain period.

To help you make healthy happen whilst at home, Anytime Fitness, the UK’s leading gym chain, has announced the launch of their Coach.Care.Connect remote service providing friendly guidance and a variety of workouts to help you stay on track and reach your exercise goals.

Via the Anytime Fitness UK Facebook and Instagram pages, Coach.Care.Connect is a new form of virtual workout support which is free and available for everyone, regardless of whether you are an existing Anytime Fitness member or not. All sessions are led by Marvin Burton, Anytime Fitness’ Head of Fitness and an experienced personal trainer.

Current public health guidelines encourage everyone to ensure that they maintain as normal a routine as possible, engaging in exercise (once per day if leaving your home), sleeping well and eating a healthy diet. Not only does exercise help improve your sleep quality, moderate physical activity can also improve mental wellbeing by raising self-esteem, allowing you to set and achieve goals or challenges and boost your mood with a hit of endorphins. Enhanced positive moods is particularly important at a time when we are all adjusting to a new daily routine at home.

Coach.Care.Connect will ensure every individual can reach their individual fitness goals and train anytime, anywhere. The advice and activities provided will offer differing levels according to fitness and ability, so everyone can benefit. All designed to help you reach your healthier you, content includes daily workouts that can be accessed 24/7, with a live workout broadcasted weekdays at 8.45am, ‘ask the coach’ live chats with Marvin, plus blogs full of expert advice on managing your diet, sleep and mental wellbeing. So far, these live workouts have reached a collective 41,625 people on Facebook alone.

Burton says: “During a time when more people are at home and looking to protect their health and wellbeing, we hope that Coach.Care.Connect can add an informative and dynamic new aspect to their daily routine. At Anytime Fitness our ethos is to provide that supporting hand to anyone on their healthy journey, just because our gyms our closed this hasn’t changed and we are delighted to provide an easily accessible way to receive expert tuition and get the guidance you need to help you stay on top of your goals.

By joining the Coach.Care.Connect community, users will be able to feel connected and secure in knowing their health goals can remain the same.”

27th March 2020 0 comment

TSF News

Joint BOA, BPA and UK Sport statement

written by Hugh

The British Olympic Association (BOA), British Paralympic Association (BPA) and UK Sport welcome the news of the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Chief Executive of the BOA, Andy Anson, said: “It is with profound sadness that we accept the postponement, but in all consciousness it is the only decision we can support, in light of the devastating impact COVID-19 is having on our nation, our communities and our families.

“Alongside UK Sport and the BPA, we have consulted with the National Governing Bodies of summer Olympic and Paralympic sports and with athlete representative groups, including our Athletes’ Commissions and the British Athletes’ Commission. It is with their input and support that we have a unanimous view that the impact of COVID-19 on athletes’ training and preparation means their regimes are now compromised irreparably. It is time for them to stop thinking about Tokyo 2020 for now and be home and safe with their families.

“It would have been unthinkable for us to continue to prepare for an Olympic Games at a time the nation and the world no less is enduring great hardship. A postponement is the right decision.

“We have incredible sympathy for the Tokyo 2020 organising committee and indeed our colleagues at the IOC, who are working tirelessly to seek a positive outcome to this difficult scenario. The Olympic Games is a symbol of hope for us all and we are sure that we will be in Tokyo at the right and appropriate time as the world re-emerges from this dark period.”

Sally Munday, CEO of UK Sport said: “We welcome today’s decision from the IOC, IPC and Japan that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be postponed. Given the unprecedented global challenge we face, today’s news means that athletes, their coaches and support staff can now fully focus on what really matters at this terribly difficult time, keeping themselves and their families safe.

“We are working closely with government to ensure we can effectively support sports and their athletes through this distressing period. I’d like to take the opportunity to reassure sports that our guidance from last week remains in place that we will not seek to recover any financial performance investment or Athlete Performance Awards due to disruption caused by COVID-19. We also realise that today’s decision has significant financial implications for our high performance system and we are working hard to identify the wide ranging impacts and scenarios and are in close contact with government to establish how best to support our summer Olympic and Paralympic sports and athletes to be ready for the Games when they do take place.

“I’d like to thank all our athletes who are playing a role in so many different ways in these challenging times, from supporting their local communities to inspiring us to stay active in our own homes. I’d also like to reassure the public that whilst the games are postponed, we strongly believe the power of sport will inspire the nation again.”

Mike Sharrock, CEO of the BPA, added: “The British Paralympic Association fully supports the decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Stemming this global public health crisis and doing everything possible to safeguard the health and wellbeing of people should clearly take priority in these unprecedented times.

“We welcome the clarity this now gives Paralympic athletes throughout the world who have had their training and qualification plans severely disrupted but also recognise it will still be a deeply unsettling time for athletes who have worked for years focussed on delivering their best possible performance in Tokyo this summer.

“The British Paralympic Association is already implementing contingency plans to ensure ParalympicGB athletes have everything in place to be best prepared for the Games when they are staged in 2021.

“We recognise that there are a huge range of factors to be considered when looking to postpone an event at this scale and we acknowledge the scale of the challenge for our friends at the Tokyo organising committee, the IOC and IPC in addressing these.

“Now is the time for us all to work together to overcome this global threat. Sport has a unique power to inspire and bring people together and we are certain that the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games can be that beacon of hope for the whole world to focus on to show what the human spirit can achieve.”

We wish to state that this decision – to postpone the Games – should in no way be a reflection on the excellent organisation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games by the IOC, the Tokyo Organising Committee and the Government of Japan.

Our thoughts remain with the families and individuals affected by COVID-19, as well as the front-line workers – including many health care professionals from the UK sports’ network – who are working to keep our communities safe and well.

We also sympathise with the many hundreds of athletes, both in the UK and globally, whose careers and personal ambitions are being impacted after many years of hard work and training.

We remain committed to taking our Olympic and Paralympic athletes to Tokyo for the next edition of the summer Games, at the appropriate time, in the hope that it will be a celebration of the world re-emerging from this unprecedented time.

24th March 2020 0 comment

TSF News

Joint statement from UK Sport, the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association

written by Hugh

UK Sport, the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA) will host a conference call with the Chief Executives and Performance Directors of summer Olympic and Paralympic sports on Tuesday 24 March, 2020.

Athletes representative bodies including the British Athletes’ Commission, and the BOA and BPA Athletes’ Commissions will also be invited to join the call.

The call will primarily be used to discuss the impact COVID-19 has had on domestic sport and athletes, specifically in light of updated Government advice and the closure of elite training facilities across the UK. This discussion will also inform the positions of the BOA and BPA in respect of feedback requested by the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee respectively.

23rd March 2020 0 comment

TSF News

BOA statement on COVID-19

written by Hugh

Everyone at the British Olympic Association (BOA) recognises the unprecedented times we are currently facing. Our primary concern is for those in our society dealing with the impact of COVID-19, specifically anyone affected directly by the virus, and the countless individuals and organisations that are working tirelessly to protect our communities.

This is a fast moving and developing international crisis with very serious consequences, and we appreciate that sport is of a secondary importance when it comes to the health and wellbeing of the population. Following conference calls that have taken place between the International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Federations, National Olympic Committees and athletes’ representatives this week, we are determined to work with our international Olympic colleagues to ensure we find the most appropriate outcome for the Games, scheduled for four months’ time, in light of the growing seriousness of COVID-19.

For many athletes, in common with their contemporaries across the world, preparation and/or qualification journeys are now being affected. Whilst we acknowledge the IOC are doing their best to ensure that the qualification process remains fair for all athletes across all sports, we are in regular dialogue with them on this matter, as it is clear there are significant challenges developing in training and qualification programmes that will have a major impact between now and the Games.

It is imperative to preserve competitive integrity for athletes, but it is clearly only wise for athletes to continue to prepare for the Games where it is safe and appropriate to do so, within relevant Government and public health guidelines.

As of the date of this statement (19.03.20), the IOC and the local Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (TOCOG), have confirmed there is no change to the status of the Games happening between 24 July – 9 August 2020. The BOA will support the ongoing decision-making process and input wherever necessary.

However, we can be categorically clear that we will not endanger the health and wellbeing of the athletes or wider delegation at any point.

We will remain in regular contact with TOCOG, the IOC and British Embassy in Tokyo, as well as our National Governing Bodies, agencies and athletes’ commission and will continue to follow Government, World Health Organisation and Public Health England guidelines in monitoring any ongoing change of advice over the course of the next four months.

19th March 2020 0 comment

TSF News

Sport Relief appeal raises more than £40m for charities

written by Hugh

The BBC’s Sport Relief event had raised more than £40m for charitable causes by the end of its live TV show.

Gary Lineker, one of the hosts, said “a chunk” of the money would go to those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The fundraising marathon – which helps vulnerable people in the UK and around the world – went ahead in front of a live studio audience in Salford despite the health crisis.

The BBC said it would do “everything possible to keep people safe”.

Match Of The Day presenter Lineker said the UK is living through “unprecedented times”, stressing that “never have the vulnerable” been more at risk.

He hosted the fundraiser alongside Paddy McGuinness, Alex Scott, Emma Willis, Rylan Clark-Neal, Oti Mabuse, Maya Jama and Tom Allen.

Full story – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51872636

Donate here – https://donation.sportrelief.com/?cartId=default-sportrelief&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social-organic&utm_campaign=SR20_NOTV_Entertain_Donate_Talent_Celebrity-Multiple_UK_NA_NA_Video_NA_SR00514&utm_term=NA&utm_content=NA

14th March 2020 0 comment

TSF News

British Red Cross named as Team GB’s official charity partner ahead of Tokyo 2020

written by Hugh

Today, on the anniversary of the 2011 Japan earthquake (11 March), Team GB and the British Red Cross have announced a partnership to inspire the British public to come together and make a positive difference this Olympic year, supporting people in crisis in the UK and overseas.

As Team GB prepares to take its most diverse team ever to the Olympic Games, it is teaming up with the British Red Cross and its network of 20,000 volunteers to inspire the public to perform acts of kindness. Motivated by the extraordinary achievements of the athletes in Tokyo, there will be a number of ways for the public to get involved throughout the year.

The launch of the partnership coincides with the anniversary of the 2011 Japan earthquake, which the Red Cross mobilised in response to. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake shook the north-east coast of the country, resulting in a tsunami that left more than 19,000 people dead. The earthquake and tsunami also triggered the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which in addition to the earthquake and tsunami, left approximately 470,000 people displaced.

Olympic Games organisers are sending a clear message of recovery for the Games in Japan, which has inspired the partnership between the British Red Cross and Team GB who aim to promote the power of connected communities to prepare for and recover from crises.

Poignantly, the Olympic torch will start its journey in Japan from the affected region of Fukushima, where Team GB athletes Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Andrew Pozzi and Adam Gemili recently visited to view the work of the Red Cross.

During a recent visit to Japan to see the work of the Red Cross, current heptathlon world champion and Team GB athlete Johnson-Thompson said: “When I stood at the former evacuation zone in Fukushima and looked out to see huge areas that are still no-go zones because of the radioactive contamination following the tsunami and nuclear disaster, it really showed the vast scale of the disaster and how much it took its toll on Japan and what many of the people have been through.

“Some of the people who were directly affected spoke with me and shared some stories. Many of them were children who told me how they had lost their homes, everything they owned, their normal way of life – it was heart-breaking. But to see how the community has come together with the help of the Red Cross shows the power of the human spirit. It really is amazing.

“They said the Red Cross was at the scene as soon as the disaster struck and are still there now, helping people to rebuild their lives so many years later and making a real difference. It was an honour to visit such inspirational children who have such a passion for life and see what a difference the Red Cross makes.”

The announcement also comes ahead of representatives of Team GB – including CEO Andy Anson – visiting Motomiya City, in the Fukushima prefecture, on their latest journey to Tokyo next week. Since 2017 Team GB has supported Motomiya City, including developing a school exchange programme for local pupils affected by the 2011 disaster.

David Bernstein, Chairman of the British Red Cross said: “The Olympic Games are such a unifying event which have the ability to transcend sport and inspire people to come together.

“The British Red Cross have been supporting people in crisis for over 150 years, no matter who or where they are.

“We believe that connected communities are stronger and more resilient to emergencies. We want our partnership with Team GB to encourage the Olympic spirit in all of us, to get involved and share the power of kindness across the country.”

Sir Hugh Robertson, Chairman of the British Olympic Association, said: “We are delighted to announce the partnership with the British Red Cross ahead of Tokyo 2020 and in their 150th anniversary year.

“Nine years ago, Japan suffered a disastrous earthquake and resulting tsunami. Since then, and throughout Team GB’s journey to the Tokyo Games, we have sought to show solidarity with Japan and support our friends and colleagues at the Japanese Olympic Committee and Tokyo Organising Committee as the country continues to rebuild.

“Today’s announcement is recognition of the work the Red Cross did to support a devastated population and is the latest in a number of initiatives to show Team GB’s support for our hosts this summer.”

11th March 2020 0 comment

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