BIG INTERVIEW: Give grass-roots sport a chance

Sport has become a political buzzword, and you will not find many politicians and societal thinkers willing to argue against its restorative powers for Britain's disaffected youth.

But behind the rhetoric there is a looming crisis for grass-roots sport.

The sector's main development body, Sport England, is looking to make massive cash cuts in the wake of plummeting National Lottery ticket sales that have resulted in its income dropping by 100m in the last five years.

The legion of volunteers who keep community sport alive are being asked for more qualifications, bigger insurance premiums and background details for delayed criminal records checks. All this with one eye on increasingly litigious parents who are all too willing to go to court over little Johnny's broken nose.