Team England Chief executive Paul Blanchard believes the Team England Futures programme is giving young athletes vital experience of a multi-sport event at the start of their careers. 

The initiative has been run by charity SportsAid with funding from Sport England and was put into motion after Birmingham won the bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games towards the end of 2017. 

What it has done is provide over 800 athletes and aspiring support staff with a taste of what to expect should they take part in such an event for real in the years ahead. 

As well as having a tour around the athletes’ village and witnessing a variety of sports, they were also given a behind-the-scenes look at some of the other facilities made available to competitors. 

Blanchard said: “A multi-sport Games, or any elite sporting championship, is a really daunting place for athletes, coaches, officials, team leaders, the whole support staff. 

“For people going into a first multi-sport Games, it can be a real eye-opener and you can’t win a medal in that environment, but you can certainly lose one. 

“So, the more that we do to prepare young athletes, young coaches and young leaders to understand what elite sport is all about, it is the training ground that they absolutely need. 

“This opportunity to get so many people through the cohort, effectively in the shadows of the village, in almost a replica of a village, that sort of climate, that sort of atmosphere is priceless. 

“It’s just creating such a great vibe, we’ve got some fantastic people here and the initiative is just amazing, in my view.” 

Blanchard has thoroughly enjoyed seeing almost five years of preparing for a first Commonwealth Games in England since 2002 come to fruition, with the action around Birmingham taking place in front of bumper crowds, no matter the sport. 

He has also been very impressed with the standard of competition, with star names in sports like swimming, athletics, cycling and women’s cricket making their way to the Midlands. 

“It’s off the charts, really,” Blanchard said. “Birmingham has really come to the party. 

“They’ve done a fantastic job. The vibe has been brilliant, the quality of sport has been fantastic. 

“The way that the spectators have responded, the way that the public in Birmingham have responded and the way the athletes have responded couldn’t have gone better for us and we’re delighted.” 

Commonwealth Games England has appointed SportsAid to lead on the development, management and operational delivery of Team England Futures at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. You can find out more about the programme by visiting https://www.sportsaid.org.uk/partnerships/team-england-futures/.