Let's champion our mentors as well as our trophy-winners in 2025

For the greater good

- Cath Bishop

As we anticipate what sport will bring us in 2025, we might be tempted to look ahead to the major international tournaments in rugby, cricket and football. But there's another space to consider, less glamorous but absolutely vital, where sport is making an increasingly significant contribution to society – the growing cadre of sportsmen and women working as mentors in support of young people facing challenges and disadvantages.

Organisations such as the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust (DKHT), Dallaglio Rugbyworks, Football Beyond Borders and Streetgames use sportsmen and women to provide support, encouragement and a trusted connection for young people trapped in complex adverse situations around the country. Just turning up at a sports session isn't enough; it's about creating a relationship with a trusted mentor within that setting.

Successive governments constantly rediscover that there is no straightforward solution to support those "hardest to reach". Disadvantage and inequality have many different faces. Solutions need to flex for each individual and address multiple issues over a sustained period of time. Sport is no panacea, but as the Centre for Social Justice's 2023 report "Game Changer" demonstrated, sport's power is that it can work on multiple levels and bring physical, mental, emotional and social benefits in a single setting. It's time for current ministers to reread that report to see how sport offers an effective tool for social change.