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The organisations will receive almost £4 million between them over the next three years, to help us deliver on the commitments made in our Uniting the Movement strategy.

We’ve agreed long-term partnerships with three more national organisations as our quest to level up access to sport and physical activity in England continues.

The Leadership Skills Foundation, the Muslim Sports Foundation and YHA (England and Wales) have joined a list of more than 130 organisations with whom we’ve partnered over the last two years.

They’ve each been chosen for their ability to improve access to sport and physical activity and to tackle inequalities – the thread that runs through our 10-year Uniting the Movement strategy.

The focus of the Leadership Skills Foundation partnership will be on improving the diversity of the workforce in the sport sector, while the Muslim Sports Foundation work will seek to increase participation in sport among British Muslims.

And with our support, the YHA aims to deliver a sustainable network of countryside walking opportunities, designed to increase participation and remove barriers to access.

In total, just under £4 million of combined National Lottery and government funding will be distributed across these partnerships over the next three years to help them use their influence to create positive change.

And as our executive director of partnerships Phil Smith points out, this announcement shows the value of extending our partnership work beyond purely sporting bodies.

"Our ambition is for everyone in England to have the opportunity to be active, regardless of who they are or where they live," he said.

"Alongside that, we’re committed to finding and supporting new leaders and champions of sport and physical activity, from every walk of life and background.

"But we can’t achieve this alone, so we've developed a growing network of partners who share our vision. We’re working with organisations from a range of different fields outside sport to bring about systemic change to ensure everyone can get active.

"Our three new partners are delivering fantastic work already and will make a real difference on the ground."

Our latest Active Lives Adult Survey showed 63% of adults in England are currently meeting the recommended 150+ minutes of exercise per week – meaning there are two million more active adults compared to eight years ago.

However, the research continues to show inequalities in activity levels, with those with long-term health conditions, disabled people, people from ethnically diverse backgrounds and those from lower socio-economic groups reporting lower activity levels.

These innovative long-term partnerships are a key part of our strategy to tackle these inequalities, alongside our £250 million investment in local communities through our place-based work.

Click here for the full press release