Sports Archives - AKD Solutions

Sports

Zero interest in women’s football!

In a recent interview with The Athletic, it was reported that Norwich City sporting director Stuart Webber made disparaging comments about women’s football. He was asked about his experience of attending his first women’s football game, he said “It’s of zero interest to me in terms of on the telly because I watch enough men’s football and if I’m not watching that, I want to watch other sports. It’s a choice.”

Disappointing but not surprising

It is disappointing to hear Webber say this about women’s sport but unfortunately not surprising. But what makes it so poignant regarding Norwich City Football Club is Delia Smith (a woman), the famous chef, is a majority shareholder of Norwich City FC. So even though we have a woman who has a very prominent position and is investing in the Football Club in terms of; its financial health, the growth and development of the club, it is disheartening to hear such disparaging comments being made.

Akin Thomas, CEO and Founder of AKD Solutions adds: “Webber’s comments remind us that there is still a long way to go in women’s football and women’s sport in general. Despite women’s football having a record number in attendance which is way beyond anything that has happened before, yet these attitudes are being expressed by very senior individuals who hold important positions of influence.”

People of influence making discriminatory comments

We do not expect to eradicate sexism or even sexist comments however we do strive to continue to ensure that organisations are held accountable for building a culture that encourages individuals to be brilliant without barriers of discrimination. The challenge is when people are put in positions of influence and in this case, he has influence over women’s football and yet makes derogatory remarks about people he is responsible for, it begs the question – “How long will we turn a deaf ear to such comments?”.

What will the landscape of sport look like in 5years?

Join us on Thursday 12th of October 2023 as we bring big thinkers to solve big problems as we build and shape the Sport industry in the next 5years, click here to find out more.

Our Sport Division has worked with governing bodies, sport and physical activity organisations to remove barriers of discrimination. Contact us contact@akdsolutions.com for more information.

AKD Sport – Our story so far…

When I first met our CEO (Akin Thomas) at a Sport England conference held at Aston Villa Football Club, we exchanged pleasantries. Well after a short lunch meeting with Akin we concluded with him proposing we could do some work in the future of which I was open to. A couple of months after that I was contacted by a colleague regarding a tender and I went to Akin saying ‘I think together we could win this’. We had a week to bring together our submission and I hoped that we could compete with all the other established organisations out there. We won and the small team delivered a seminal piece of research that still reverberates across the UK sports and physical activity space, that piece of research and report was ‘Tell Your Story’, that was the birth of the Sports Division at AKD.

In the past two years, we have conducted pioneering research within the sport sector including ‘Tell Your Story’ which looked at the stories of those within ethnically diverse communities and their experiences of accessing or involvement in sport, click here to read. Following this, we delivered 2 more pieces of research. We are also working with a host of national governing sport bodies, Sport Wales, UK Sports, Sport England and more. The growth has been swift but our range and impact is testament to all the people involved in AKD Sport Division.

Our mission is to be pioneers in sport by bringing insight, stimulating brilliance within the sector and giving original thought leadership to help make changes that benefit all. This gives all the opportunity to access the rich ecosystem of sport and physical activity.

Written by Ladi Ajayi, Head of Sport Division

Blog Post · Diversity and Inclusion · Sports · Uncategorized

AGS, UK SPORT AND SPORT ENGLAND DETERMINED TO MAKE SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MORE DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE WITH DIAPS

AKD Solutions together with The Governance Form and Sheffield Hallam University (AGS) have forged a consortium to provide a wide range of skills, experience and creativity for sporting and physical activity organisations as they produce actionable and robust Diversity and Inclusion Plans (DIAPS). Ladi Ajayi, Head of Sport Division at AKD stated; “As the landscape of sport shifts towards becoming more inclusive and diverse, AGS is determined to be part of the cohort of organisations involved in positively shifting the dial.”

Lady Ajayi — Ladi Ajayi, Head of Sport Division

There is a consensus that sport and physical activity sector in the UK is excluding large numbers of people. The sector must be progressive in breaking down barriers for more people to gain access and enjoy the physical and mental well-being benefits of sport and physical activity. When Sport England and UK Sport reviewed the Code for Sports Governance in 2021, they introduced a new requirement for their Tier 3 funded partners to create a Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP). The plans are expected to be ambitious and robust and clearly show how partners will work to improve diversity and inclusion across their whole organisation. Karl George, Lead Independent Review said; “We hope to help each partner to follow a process that enables them to enhance any existing action plan they have around diversity or if they haven’t got a DIAP we envisage that the process that we have recommend will help them to prepare bespoke, ambitious and proportionate plans.” Additionally, the plans will include clear and accountable actions which involve all stakeholders.

AGS are keen for partners to work collaboratively to not just draft another plan but to see this as an opportunity to action and embed fundamental change. Simon Shibli Sheffield Hallam University notes, “I’d like to see a culture change, whereby using data on diversity and inclusion is embedded in the DNA of sport and physical activity organisations because we agree that it is the right thing to do and good for business.”

To achieve this, AGS believe partners cannot do what they have always done. Akin Thomas, CEO of AKD adds “We need to disrupt our normality to create something better. This is an opportunity for partners to fuse their knowledge, experience and goals with our energy and expertise to develop and deliver DIAPs that will shift the dial.”

To find out more information visit www.akdsolutions.com/ags or email diapsupport@akdsolutions.com

Blog Post · Sports · SportSolHL

What would happen if the Sports industry supported more women?

Congratulations to the Lionesses who won the UEFA Women’s Championship and the dedicated staff who worked tirelessly to support the team on the inside to help the team deliver a performance of a lifetime.

The women brought home the long-awaited trophy, the first senior representatives of a national side to win a football trophy for England since 1966! However, they would not have been able to get there without the input and sacrifice of those who had gone before them. A lot of those players in the past were not paid even though they were professionals, they had full-time jobs but were still committed to training, they used their own money to get whatever and wherever they needed to get to represent their own country. The winning lionesses stand on the shoulder of those women.

This shows women’s sport is a giant hiding in plain sight because 50% of the world’s population is female and we need to respect what they bring to sports,

This shows women’s sport is a giant hiding in plain sight because 50% of the world’s population is female and we need to respect what they bring to sports, physical activity, and also the entertainment aspect as that was a truly entertaining game. And I know other women’s sports do not need to compete with men but need to be put on an equal footing as men to show their talent and entertainment and to show what sport can be for everyone. I hope this triggers and moves forward women’s sports 150 times more than it has been in the past.

This is a great example of why Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in sports is paramount to breaking the seemingly glass ceiling for women in sport. What would happen if the Sports industry supported more women to deliver a performance of a lifetime?

Blog Post · Sports

Best of Africa – A Night To Remember

Akin Thomas , Founder and CEO of AKD and Ladi Ajayi, Head of Sport Division at AKD attended the Best in Africa awards last week. Best of Africa was founded in 2011 aspiring to challenge us to go beyond stereotypes, prejudices and preconceptions. It was founded to support and celebrate African-owned philanthropic endeavours as well as to draw attention to the remarkable contribution of Africans in the United Kingdom.

Ladi Ajayi adds; “Akin and I were invited and attended the Best of Africa Awards at The Londoner Hotel Leicester Square. These awards are to recognise and celebrate the philanthropic endeavours of individuals and organisations from the sports and business world who support and champion causes from healthcare to education to environmental causes and gender equality.

We were fortunate to see recipients such as Patrick Vieira, Charlene White,Anthony Joshua and Danielle Carter to name but a few collect awards. Just as important was the opportunity to meet contemporaries, network with sports and business people and connect with young talented entrepreneurs and people wanting to shift the dial and show Africa and it’s sons and daughters how brilliant they are and the significant contribution they add to the world.”

AKD Sport Division believe these events such as Best of Africa shine the light on the work and positive influence those from underrepresented communities are having in the sport industry. We are passionate about changing the narrative and ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion is part of sport organisations DNA.

Want to know more? Read our pioneering #TellYourStory report. Sign up to ACE, our leadership workshop for those in sport, visit our Sport page to find out more.

AKD Sport Division work with the leading sport and grassroot sport organisations to disrupt to create greater visit our Sport page.

Blog Post · Sports · Team building

Our first time at the London Marathon

Sunday 4:45am my alarm goes off, yes it was my wake up call! Why was I awake at this time you ask? I was getting ready to participate in the London Marathon, I hadn’t trained for the marathon at all so you can imagine how I was feeling… thank goodness I was only volunteering as part of the AKD Sport division and NOT actually running.

This was my first time at the London Marathon, I was excited to be part of this historical event which I had watched a few times on TV. I couldn’t believe I was going to be there, live. I arrived at the Start location in South East London at 6:45am and instantly appreciated the magnitude of being part of this amazing event. Even my taxi driver wow-ed and oo-ed as we drove into the location. The signage set, the number of people stationed at entries, security, multimedia equipment set up, lavish decorations at the Start line – everything was spectacular.

Once I finally located my team (I got lost, as the grounds were huge!) I was given a London Marathon: badge, T-shirt, light jacket and a New Balance hat along with some much-needed chocolate and water.

Team AKD getting ready to welcome London Marathon participants

It was great to meet the other volunteers who were from all walks of life, which inherently is a reflection of the London Marathon. The volunteers we met shared their stories, from those who had been volunteering for the past 10 years to a gentleman who shared how he took part in his first marathon at 52 (with a pacemaker) and now is 66! We also met a young 19-year-old woman who was so happy to have started volunteering at the London Marathon last year and chose to do so again this year.

At around 8:55am we were briefed again by our team leader and stationed at our post to direct the participants around the course. As we waited for the runners to begin we met some locals who shared their excitement about having the marathon at their doorstep. We also got to hear the stories of friends and family of runners who shared their stories, a lady shared how she had lost her husband last year and was motivated to begin running, we listened to stories of a man who was simply looking for a new challenge and decided to run and was now on his 10^th marathon, to a friend of a runner who shared the story of her friend running after having long-Covid albeit this was her second marathon.

Akin Thomas (AKD CEO) directing runners around the course during the London Marathon

As the marathon began we knew our role was important, even though it felt small. My colleague Shola and I worked together as volunteers on the day, she adds: “Though it may not have been the biggest role, directing people through the course and cheering them along made me feel a part of something big. Seeing the joy on people’s faces when you called out their names was heartwarming”.

One of the many exciting activities for the local residents was spotting the creative outfits.

The great thing about the London Marathon is that it is truly accommodating to all, we saw Paralympians, elite runners to those simply walking, lest we forget those attempting to break world records. We saw young and those older, black, white, abled and disabled.

“…no matter how small you feel the role you are playing, do it with excellence and passion as it is truly adding value.”
Faith.A , Marketing and Comms Manager, AKD.

What stood out to me is a life lesson – we all start this race in life, each person’s race will look different however all we have to do is to show up and take part. And no matter how small you feel the role you are playing do it with excellence with passion as it is truly adding value. Shola adds; “This was the first time I had interacted with the London Marathon and it was such an amazing experience. Knowing I was giving someone that extra push they needed because someone was rooting for them was an amazing feeling and I will definitely be volunteering again!” I too echo this sentiment.

Thank you to the amazing London Marathon Events team.

Written by Faith.A and Shola Thomas.

AKD Solutions has worked with London Marathon Events and other Sport organisations helping them maintain a competitive edge in areas of; research, a vision of inclusivity, ACE and much more. We’d love to spark brilliance with you, contact us to discuss how we can disrupt to create something greater.