In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the period 2015-2030. These goals were established to address the social, economic and ecological aspects of sustainable development with the view of eradicating poverty and redirecting the world’s development agenda.
According to the Commonwealth Secretariat (2015), three of these SGDs provide opportunities for sport to play its part in achieving the 2030 development agenda. (https://www.sportanddev.org/en/learn-more/sport-and-sustainable-development-goals/what-sports-role-addressing-sustainable)
SDG 3: Ensure Healthy Lives and Promote Wellbeing for All, at all Ages
· Health benefits of sport and physical activity: Levels of physical inactivity are rising worldwide and, with 3.2 million deaths per year, it is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Participation in sport reduces the risks of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases. Economic impact of physical inactivity: The costs are a burden on healthcare, and to employers due to sick leave. It is estimated that physical inactivity will cost India US$7.5 billion and the UK US$26 billion by 2030 if appropriate measures are not taken. Such calculations are likely to be underestimates as they focus mainly on chronic diseases and don’t include, for example, mental health.
SDG 4: Ensure Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Promote Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All
· The right to participate in quality sport, physical activity and physical education: Sport and physical activity are enshrined as a fundamental right in documents such as the International Charter of Physical Education and Sport. High-quality physical education is important to children’s physical literacy and can also create other learning outcomes.
· Improved education outcomes: Physical activity is compulsory in schools in 97 percent of countries, but has a lower status than other subjects in more than half of them. This contradicts research showing that well-run sport activities and physical education has a positive impact on learners, including improved academic performance.
Engaging disenfranchised learners: Sport projects can provide an education for people without access to formal education and those who do not perform well or enjoy more traditional approaches.
· Prioritising holistic education: The UN’s targets for SDG 4 expand the concept of education, not only focusing on school-aged students or strict definitions of curriculums. Improved health and wellbeing – and the recognition that physical activity is important within that – should be central to any definition of holistic and inclusive education.
SDG 5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls
· The role of sport in society: Well-run sports programmes can promote gender equality. However, sport can also reinforce negative stereotypes, less than 20 percent of positions on sports governing bodies are filled by women, professional female athletes are paid less than men and women’s sport gets less global media coverage. Addressing these issues would have a positive impact on SDG 5.
· Sport as a safe space to address gender issues: Engaging women and girls in sports projects can address issues such as sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence and female leadership. The popularity of sport among men and boys can also make it an effective way to engage them on such topics.
· Promoting female leadership: High-level leaders and role models with a global reach can be effective in promoting gender equality, while local sport programmes can train and empower women to become role models within their communities.
The Ministry of Sport and Community Development, SporTT, T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC), and National Governing Bodies (NGBs) have to work with researchers to ensure that robust data analysis is used in evaluating the impact of sport and physical activity projects on achieving the SDGs.