17 March 2025 – London Sport – a charity aimed at helping Londoners lead longer, healthier and happier lives through sport and physical activity – announces an exciting new partnership with advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi.
The collaboration sees the launch of a compelling new campaign, More Ball Games, to unlock sport, play and physical activity for all.
With an estimated 7,000 signs across London alone, a new Banksy-styled campaign has been rolled out in Lambeth to shine a spotlight on the city’s youth inactivity crisis and the role that these outdated signs play in it.
According to the charity London Sport, each ‘No Ball Games’ sign deters an estimated 80 young people from engaging in sport and physical activity – which could have led to more than half a million young people being discouraged from playing and staying active.
This afternoon, with the support of the London Lions basketball team, the charity helped local youngsters transform an infamous ‘No Ball Games’ sign into an invitation for play. The first reimagined sign – now a fully functional basketball hoop – was unveiled at the Mursell Estate in Lambeth and comes at a critical time
A powerful film, directed by Rory Peyton Jones and Elliot Lee, captures the stark reality of ‘No Ball Games’ signs. The film exposes the impact on the most deprived communities, where too many children grow up with limited access to play and recreation. The film is produced by Will Breeden alongside Joe Revens and Izzy Woods.
The hero basketball hoop at the Mursell Estate was designed to showcase an impactful joint pledge between London Sport and the local council, that is proudly displayed on the backboard. The pledge is a contractual commitment to reclaiming spaces for play and revitalising communities.
London Sport is using the campaign to lobby policymakers to take urgent action to ensure that children and young people—regardless of their background, household income or postcode—has access to free spaces where they can play, move, and be active close to home. However, this will not be possible without policy shifts that remove barriers, starting with the removal of ‘No Ball Games’ signs.
Members of the public are invited to join the More Ball Games movement and sign a petition to demand the removal of No Ball Games signs, reimagine public spaces and commit to removing systemic barriers to play, sport and physical activity, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
Brands who share London Sport’s vision to create healthier futures for young people are encouraged to join the More Ball Games movement and work with the charity to drive change together.
Franki Goodwin, CCO, Saatchi & Saatchi said:
“No Ball Games signs are a ban on play, a ban on health and a ban on fun. They are placed in the heart of communities full of kids. When you stop to think about how damaging and pernicious they are you can’t believe they have endured for 50 years. We are so proud to partner with London Sport to reclaim these spaces and to turn them into resistance movements. We believe this work will drive real social change and we’re honoured to be a part of London Sport’s mission and help tackle the physical inactivity crisis in the capital.“
Tanya Rabin, Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications, at London Sport says:
“Thanks to Saatchi & Saatchi, this campaign will help us elevate the issue and strengthen our advocacy efforts. This is not just about removing signs – it’s about creating a culture shift that prioritises play, movement and physical activity as essential to healthy childhoods, thriving communities, and public well-being.
We can’t do this alone and so are calling on other like-minded organisations to join us in collective action towards a healthier city.”
Find out how your organisation can join the More Ball Games movement by contacting London Sport here.
ENDS
About London Sport
London Sport is a charity helping all Londoners live longer, happier, healthier lives through being active.
As a strategic leader, advocate and convenor for London’s grassroots sport and physical activity sector, we collaborate with London’s local authorities and other organisations to ensure more equitable access to sport and physical activity.
As part of a national network of 43 Active Partnerships with a collective voice to influence nationally, our work aims to break the link between inactivity and inequality to improve health and wellbeing of those from the most deprived communities
For more information on London Sport, visit www.londonsport.org
About Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi has a simple ambition to create the most influential creative ideas from modern Britain. Our work strives to be the reference. This spirit is brought to bear on transformative work for clients including EE, BT, Subway, British Heart Foundation, The John Lewis Partnership, and OVO. In 2024, our Upriser schools programme reached a milestone of working with 10,000 students thanks to our partners in the UK. Upriser is a free to access creative schools platform available to any secondary school in the UK.
The Saatchi & Saatchi network unites 114 offices in 67 countries and 6,500 people. Saatchi & Saatchi is part of the Publicis Groupe.
www.saatchi.co.uk
