HEADING NORTH

This year’s SAPCA Conference will be held at a new venue in Manchester. SportsNation previews the annual event

The SAPCA Annual Conference 2025 will take place on Thursday 27 February 2025 at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester. It is a new venue for the annual event, which was last year held at the Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium, home of the Leicester Tigers.

Educational elements

The one-day conference will feature an exciting range of high-profile speakers and a highly topical educational programme, as well as plenty of networking opportunities.

The conference keynote speaker will be former England cricket captain, David Gower OBE. Gower played 117 Tests for England and captained the side in 32 Test matches – including the famous 1985 Ashes, a six-match series which England won 3-1. Gower, who has spent the past 30 years in sports broadcasting, has become a much-loved commentator. At the SAPCA Conference, he will open the educational programme with a keynote on effective leadership.

Gower will then be followed on stage by another ex-elite athlete who has carved out a career in sport – Olympic champion cyclist and Sport England chair, Chris Boardman CBE. Boardman will offer delegates an insight into Sport England’s plans for 2025 and beyond. The strategy, called Uniting the Movement, was published in January 2021 and outlines a 10-year vision to “transform lives and communities through sport and physical activity”.

Boardman, who is a big advocate for active travel and sustainability in general, will also outline details of Sport England’s first ever sustainability strategy, titled Every Move. Launched in May 2024, the strategy is designed to help and support the sector to become environmentally sustainable, enabling greater opportunity for all people to participate in sport and physical activity, now and in the future.

Other speakers on the day include Tara Dillon, CEO of CIMSPA and former Labour MP and founder of Sports Think Tank, Andy Reed OBE. Dillon will speak on the importance of creating a positive team culture within a business or organisation, while Reed will offer delegates the inside track on the Labour government’s plans for sport and physical activity.

There will also be a session on biodiversity net gain (BNG), which became mandatory for major construction developments on 12 February 2024. The talk will be given by Owen Faunt and Matt Bonney from GCP Architects, who will offer an architectural and design perspective into BNG. It will highlight some of the common pitfalls around BNG and offer pragmatic advice to developers and contractors.

Networking opportunities

The conference will be followed by the annual SAPCA Awards Dinner, held at the Emirates Old Trafford. To read more about the SAPCA Award finalists for 2025, turn to page 60.

“This year’s SAPCA Conference will feature an excellent educational programme and we are delighted to welcome Chris Boardman as one of our speakers,” says SAPCA Chief Executive, Richard Shaw.

“I’m sure SAPCA members and industry colleagues attending will find the content and talks beneficial. Networking is a big part of the event and we look seeing a number of industry colleagues from national governing bodies of sport and other organisations in Manchester. I would also like to thank our headline sponsor, Passport365, for its support – as well as our other sponsors, O’Brien Contractors, Hirebase and IAE.”

Speakers

David Gower OBE Former England cricket captain During his time as a cricketer, Gower was one of the highest-scoring players for England and is known for being one of the best batsmen of his era. He played a total of 117 test matches for England in which he scored 8,231 runs scoring 18 centuries.

Since retiring, Gower has become a commentator and spent more than 20 years at Sky Sports. He has fantastic knowledge of the sport as well as teamwork, leadership and being under the spotlight.

Chris Boardman CBE Chair, Sport England Chris won an Olympic gold medal at Barcelona 1992 in the individual pursuit. A year later he started his professional cycling career and over the following eight years held the Yellow Jersey in the Tour de France on three separate occasions, took three World titles on track and road and broke several world records. He was appointed Chair of Sport England in 2021 and now oversees the organisation that each year invests more than £250m of National Lottery and government money to help people play sport and take part in physical activity.

Tara Dillon CEO, CIMSPA Dillon began her career in sport and physical activity as a lifeguard in her local leisure centre back in 1987, while studying. Having gained hands-on experience within local authority leisure and various management positions, she was appointed as Contracts Manager at DC Leisure Management (DCLM). After six years with DCLM, Tara accepted the role of Executive Director of IQL-UK Ltd where she remained until 2015, when she was appointed CEO of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA).

Tara has a passion for the sport and physical activity sector which drives her to constantly aim for improvements across the industry. In 2024, Tara was recognised with The Jan Spaticchia Special Recognition Award for her contribution to the sector

Andy Reed OBE Founder, Sports Think Tank Andy Reed OBE is a recognised figure in sport policy and governance, with a distinguished career spanning politics, academia and advocacy. A former MP for Loughborough (1997–2010), Andy served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Sports Ministers, chaired the Parliamentary Sports Caucus, and was instrumental in crafting the Labour Party’s 2010 sports manifesto. He played a key role in securing funding for UK Sport and supporting London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympics in his time at the Treasury.