Lead the Change gets underway at Headingley

Day one of our 'Lead the Change' initiative took place on Tuesday at Headingley Stadium, home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

Nineteen ethnically diverse people were in attendance for the first of five days of learning that is designed to put them in a stronger position to take on leadership roles in the sport and physical activity sector.

Co-created in partnership with Yorkshire Cricket Board and West Riding County FA, with support from a consortium consisting of Sporting Equals, AKD Solutions, and Equity Coach, 'Lead the Change' is a programme running between February and June 2025.

Day one was led by Paul Reddish OBE on behalf of Equity Coach, and had a focus on ‘Race’, culture and sport. Topics discussed included how our systems are setup and the legacies we are confronting; institutions and racism and the importance of intersectionality in understanding how organisations work; as well as cultural identity and competency, and it’s link to bias and inclusion.

Day two will take place at Headingley in March, the first of two sessions from AKD Solutions on 'Positive Action in Leadership'.

Alongside the training for individuals, a one-day anti-racism workshop has been scheduled for leaders within organisations to help them be better placed to attract applications for leadership roles from people with a diverse ethnic background.

Tahir Akram, who has led on 'Lead the Change' for Yorkshire Sport Foundation, said: "It has taken just over two years to get to this point so, to finally see it come to fruition was a proud moment.

"Our first cohort were excellent, engaged and asked some really sharp questions. 

"The old Chinese proverb of 'The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now' always hits hard in moments like this. We'll always find things to improve but we had to start somewhere and we have."