London Sport has welcomed Nike’s commitment to getting more young Londoners doing physical activity as the company announces a series of major partnerships across the capital.
Nike have signed a new multi-year partnerships alongside the London Youth Games(LYG), Virgin Sport in Hackney and Track Mafia.
Further commitments have been created with youth football charity, Football Beyond Borders, Gloves not Gunz, a Croydon community project mentoring young people and Love Basketball, London’s biggest girls only basketball club.
With the decline in youth service provisions, the increase in youth-on-youth crime and low levels of physical activity, it is a Nike belief that sport should play a daily role in the lives of young Londoners and can be a positive vehicle for change.
London Sport Chief Executive Tove Okunniwa said:
“Nike and the London Youth Games’ decision to enter into a new partnership is not only great news for the Games, but a truly exciting moment for sport as a whole in London.
“The London Youth Games is an important part of the city’s sporting landscape and I look forward to seeing it grow from strength-to-strength in collaboration with the team at Nike to help more of London’s young people to thrive through sport.”
David Carmont VP/GM Nike UK and Ireland added:
“We know that young Londoners have an unbeatable spirit and attitude that really sets the tone for this city. But, we know that they now need sport in their life more than ever.
“The commitment to the London Youth Games, Hackney and other youth partnerships represents a significant moment for Nike.
“We know young people who move, move the world forward and we are committed to creating more opportunities to play and help unlock the potential of young Londoners.”
London Youth Games
The London Youth Games has been London’s largest provider of youth sporting opportunities for over 40 years through their mission is to inspire every young Londoner to find their best through sport.
LYG reaches 140,000 young people across 33 boroughs in 30 sports and believe that as long as a young Londoner has a dream to play, they should also have the opportunity.
Nike hope the partnership with London Youth Games will increase long-term participation in the city and, by 2022, the goal is to serve more than 200,000 young people each year.
Nicky Affleck, interim CEO of the London Youth Games said:
“When Nike first approached us it was immediately clear that we shared the same values and vision. Creating opportunities for every young Londoner to play sport is an unwavering belief we both share.
“This unique partnership with Nike represents a game changing moment for London Youth Games and will allow us to inspire and enable more young people to play sport more often.”
Hackney Festival of Fitness
Nike has also committed to a multi-year partnership with Virgin Sport to get Hackney moving with the Hackney Festival of Fitness will take place from 17-19 May.
Nike will encourage 10,000 Londoners to take in their first 5k and for those willing to push the boundaries will be unlocking 1,300 Hackney Half places in 2020 & 2021.
Nike will further be partnering with Track Mafia, who have been at the heart of Hackney Half since its inception, to engage with the community.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm founder of Track Mafia and Nike Running Head Coach said:
“There are some who believe that the Hackney weekend is just about running, but to us and many others it’s about so much more.
“It’s about togetherness, it’s about supporting others and most importantly it’s about celebrating our differences. This, for us, is the epitome of community – the ability to come together and share the road with people who in your normal day to day life you would never come across.”
For further information about Nike’s commitments with the London Youth Games, the partnership with Virgin Sport to get Hackney moving, and more, click here.
