For sports and national governing bodies to be officially recognised in the UK, they must be approved through a formal application process.
Recognition is a joint policy, operated by the four Home Country Sports Councils (Sport Wales, Sport England, Sport Northern Ireland and Sport Scotland) and UK Sport. Applications for recognition of a sport and a national governing body for that sport are dealt with by these organisations in partnership, as a UK Recognition panel.
The Sport and National Governing Body (NGB) Recognition Process is currently closed to all new applications. We expect to re-open the process by Spring 2026. Please check back here for further updates.
Our original intention was to re-open the process in Summer 2025. However, the need to ensure that the new recognition policy is suitable for all involved, and in order to comply with statutory consultation timelines, it has been necessary to re-schedule this.
We appreciate that this delay may be frustrating to NGBs that are eager to apply for recognition. In the meantime, we encourage them to continue developing their sports and their organisation’s governance. The previous Recognition Policy (2017) and its associated Applicant Guidance Document will provide an understanding of the criteria we previously required NGBs to meet in order to become recognised. There is also some really helpful information on the Sports Governance Academy website and Sport Wales’s Capability Framework and the Governance and Leadership Framework for Wales offers guidance on good practice.
The Sports Councils do not decide what is and what is not a sport.
There are many different opinions as to what constitutes a sporting activity and the sports councils do not have their own definition of sport. However, we operate a recognition process to establish which sports we may consider working with.
When deciding whether to recognise a sport, the sports councils look to see if it meets the Council of Europe's European Sports Charter 1993 definition of sport and if the sport is well established and organised within our jurisdiction.
It is not the role of the Sports Councils to establish or appoint national governing bodies. National governing bodies are typically independent, self-appointed organisations that govern their sports through the common consent of their sport.
The aim of the recognition process is to identify a single lead national governing body structure which governs a sport at UK, GB or home country level. Our recognition criteria focus on establishing if a national governing body has achieved a position of pre-eminence within its sport and if it has a reasonable level of organisation and governance.
Sports council recognition of a national governing body is not a guarantee of funding and neither does it mean we have approved or accredited the quality of its programmes.
Recognition does not bestow any official powers on a national governing body to govern its sport nor does it guarantee direct financing of the established governing body.
The sports and governing bodies currently recognised by the Sports Council’s in the UK can be found below.
Also, in the interest of safety, groups taking part in the following sports high risk sports must be affiliated to their sport’s governing body in order to be considered for grant support.
All of the sports below have been officially recognised. Where there is no NGB listed, the sport is recognised but without an official national governing body.
Federating, Coarse, Game, Sea
Field, Target
Cross Country, Mountain/Fell, Road, Track and Field
Freestyle, Marathon, Open Canoeing, Polo, Sea Kayaking, Slalom, Sprint, Surf Kayak, Wild Water Racing, Stand Up Paddleboarding
Cave Diving, Pot Holing, Mine Exploration
Bagua, Chinese Boxing, Eagle Claw, Freestyle, Hsing Yi, Kung Fu, Lau Gar, Lion Dance, Modern Wushu, Praying Mantis, Qigong, Qingda, Sanshou, Shaolin (Northern/Southern), Tai Chi, Taijiquan, Tiger Crane, Traditional Wushu, White Crane, Wing Chun.
Road, Track, BMX, Downhill, Mountain Biking, Cyclo Cross, Cycle Speedway
Ballroom, Latin, Highland Dance, Scottish Country, Folk Dance
Horse and Pony Riding, Dressage, Carriage Driving, Endurance, Vaulting, Show Jumping, Harness Racing, Polocrosse, Eventing, Reigning, Mounted Games, Horseball
Keep Fit, Laban Movement, Medau, Margaret Morris Movement
Eton, Rugby
Futsal
Handball, Football, Hurling
Artistic, Rhythmic, Team Gym, Acrobatics, Aerobic, Trampoline & DMT, Tumbling
Olympic
Short Track, Figure, Synchronised
Iaido, Jodo
Road Racing, Trials, Enduro, Motorcross, Track Racing, Super Moto, Drag/Sprint, Speedway, Rallying, Sidecar Racing, Hill Climbing
Autotests, Autosolo, Autocross, Circuit Racing, Cross Country, Hill Climbing, Karting, Rallycross, Rallying, Sprints, Time Attack, Trials
Indoor Climbing, Outdoor Climbing, Hill Walking, Mountaineering
Speed, Inline Hockey, Artistic, Skater Hockey, Freestyle, Roller Hockey, Roller Derby
Touch
Tag, Sevens, Touch
Sailing, Windsurfing, Inland Boating
RYA governs recreational use but not competitive racing of Personal Watercraft, Motor Cruising, Sportsboats, and Powerboating.
Clay Target, Pistol, Small-bore Rifle, Muzzle Loaders
Skiing, Snowboarding, Telemark
Squash, Squash 57
Short Board, Kneeboard, Long Board, Body Board, Skim Board, Body Surf
Swimming, Diving, Artistic Swimming, Water Polo, Open Water
Tennis, Padel Tennis
Barefoot, Cable Ski, Kneeboard, Racing, Tournament, Wakeboarding
Weightlifting, Olympic, Para, Powerlifting
Olympic Freestyle
