Sport In Mind, the sport and mental health charity, supported more people than ever last year, according to its new Saving Lives Through Sport Impact Report 2025-26.
The charity supported 9,856 adults and children during 2025/26, a 20% increase on the previous year. Its delivery network grew by 35% to 218 locations across 21 counties, helping more people find inclusive sport and physical activity close to home.
Its volunteer network almost doubled, rising 98% to 734 volunteers. Together with delivery partners, they make 36 different types of activity available, so participants can find something that suits their needs, interests and abilities.
The report also shows that people keep coming back. Participants attended an average of 12 visits each, nearly twice the national average, which the charity says reflects the welcoming, supportive environments its sessions create.
One of them is Laylen, who started going to Sport In Mind football sessions at 16 while experiencing depression and anxiety. Introduced by a friend, Laylen, now 19, still plays every week.
"I was at a point in my life where I just didn't leave the house for two or three months at a time," he said. "It's helped me out quite a lot with my anxiety. Going to these sessions encouraged me to get out more, do what I enjoy most, which is playing football, and get some extra fitness in instead of just lounging around all day every day."
The charity's work with children and young people grew too. Its educational reach rose by 46% to 6,552 children and young people, through workshops, assemblies and partnerships that build understanding of mental health and make physical activity more accessible.
The report's social value analysis puts the attributable social value of the charity's work at £1,749,155.
It comes as the Office for National Statistics recorded 6,162 suicide deaths registered in England and Wales in 2025, underlining the need for accessible mental health support and prevention alongside specialist services.
Beth Heller, National Partnerships Manager at Sport In Mind, said: "We're seeing the real difference our work makes, a 20% increase on the previous year, and participants attended an average of 12 sessions each, nearly twice the national average. But there are still more people who need support. We're calling on businesses, funders and community partners to join us in reaching more people through the power of sport and physical activity."
For the sport for good sector, it is a clear example of community sport doing preventative mental health work at scale: thousands of people, in hundreds of local venues, coming back week after week.
Source: Sport In Mind, 6 November 2026 https://www.sportinmind.org/news/saving-lives-through-sport-impact-report-2025-26