Hate crime is up 29% in Bristol over the past 3 years,
with 3074 hate crimes reported in Bristol just last year*
As hate crime rises across Bristol, volunteer Club Champions from local sports clubs have come together to discuss the future of No Hate Just Sport (NHJS). No Hate, Just Sport is a multi-sport pilot within the City of Bristol, led by Wesport and SARI (Stand Against Racism & Inequality), that works with clubs, organisations and communities to tackle discrimination and hate within sport and physical activity.
Local volunteers driving change
To mark Hate Crime Awareness Week, Wesport and SARI have launched the next phase of No Hate, Just Sport with an event at Ashton Gate, with one of our campaign partners, Robins Foundation. We launched the new Club Champions initiative, bringing together volunteers from sports clubs across Bristol to promote inclusion, support reporting and help create safer environments for everyone.
Club champions will help shape the future of the campaign and ensure community and clubs are at the core of the work.
The energy and commitment shown by our first Club Champions was inspiring.
Sport has a unique power to bring people together and create a sense of belonging. Our Club Champions will help make that a reality by championing inclusion within their clubs and helping shape the future of No Hate, Just Sport.
At a time when hate and discrimination are increasing, it is encouraging to see local people stepping forward to be part of the solution.
Sarah McLeod, Strategic Lead for Place & Communities at Wesport and part of No Hate Just Sport team.
It was a really interesting evening, and really informative to see so many sports clubs represented here. For our club, being a mixed age range, I can see us encountering lots of problems around hate and discrimination in the future. It's nice to have people like Wesport and other support to help when it’s needed.
Tav, Club Champion, Bristol Bombers Lacrosse Club
Religious hate crime has increased by 44% in one year (70 more recorded)*
Race-flagged hate crimes increased by 10% in one year (200 more recorded)*
Hate crime against women is increasing across our city – 35% rise in crimes with female victims since 2023/24*
This is the reality of our city and reflects the recent research from the Home Office^, that of the 146,825 hate crime offences reported to the police in England and Wales – a 7% increase on the previous year. Race-related hate crime increased by 9%, while religious hate crime rose by 13%.
It also mirrors trends seen in football in a report from Kick It Out^^ recorded a season-high 1,744 discrimination reports in 2025/26, up 25%; racism was most reported (792), while reports of sexism, homophobia, antisemitism, ableism and Islamophobia also rose.
"The statistics tell us that hate and discrimination remain a reality for too many people. Sport should be somewhere everyone feels safe, welcome and able to belong.
Club Champions, practical training and stronger partnerships, we're giving clubs and communities the tools and confidence to challenge discrimination and create lasting change."
Steve, Wesport CEO and champion of NHJS
The 434 referrals received by SARI in just six months**, and the stories of hate and discrimination we’re hearing on our streets, reminds us that hate and discrimination remain a reality for far too many people across our communities.
The stories we continue to see across Bristol include racism, religious hate, disability, homophobia, transphobia and targeted violence against minoritised communities. These cases reinforce why specialist support services, community cohesion initiatives and preventative programmes such as SARI's work and the No Hate, Just Sport project remain vital within Bristol and the wider West of England.
Alex Raikes MBE DL, Chief Exec. at SARI
The landscape is changing and local clubs need to be prepared and educated on hate crime and discrimination
Wesport and SARI, have launched a free e-learning course for coaches, volunteers, welfare officers, parents and participants. The training helps people recognise discrimination, understand reporting procedures, support those affected and develop practical active bystander skills. Anyone can access the training, here.
The aim is simple: to give local people the confidence to act when discrimination occurs rather than remain silent.
Join the movement: educate and empower
To ensure impact and reach of the project, No Hate, Just Sport is comprised of three parts:
- Best Practice Guidance
- Training and Education
- Awareness Campaign
Our vision is to nurture a sporting culture in Bristol where:
- Hate and discrimination are not tolerated.
- Individuals, clubs, and organisations are empowered to challenge unacceptable behaviour.
- Individuals, clubs, and organisations are confident in reporting discrimination and hate crimes.
- Safe, supportive, and inclusive spaces are created and sustained.
- Everyone, regardless of background or identity, can participate and thrive in sport.
Together, Bristol can lead the way in showing that there’s no place for hate — let’s make sport a safer place for all.
Appendix
Wesport is a charity and the Active Partnership for Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire. Wesport works to tackle the structural inequalities that prevent people from taking part in sport and physical activity.
SARI is a charitable organisation based in Bristol (working throughout B&NES, Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset, and South Gloucestershire) that supports victims of hate within the community. They also aim to promote equality and good relations between people with protected characteristics, as defined by law. SARI leads on casework, supporting victims of hate crime. They also work with children, young people, and schools, and other educational establishments, providing support to pupils facing racist and other hate incidents. SARI also delivers anti-hate, equality, diversity, and inclusion, and cultural awareness sessions.
No Hate, Just Sport is further guided by a multi-agency scoping group comprising:
- National Governing Bodies and local County Associations of Sport (NGBs)
- Local authority and council colleagues
- Police and legal representatives
- Leisure and community sport providers
- Equality, diversity, and inclusion advocates
This broad coalition brings a diverse range of expertise from the sport and equality, diversity, and inclusion sectors, as well as those with lived experience, to provide us with a well-rounded perspective and support for ongoing development.
The campaign was created in collaboration with key partners: Avon and Somerset Police, Bristol City Council, Bristol City Robins Foundation, Bristol Law Centre, Easton Cowfolk, Everyone Active, Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation, Gloucestershire FA, LTA, Mwanzo Project CIC.
Read all the data and sources here.
Interview opportunities:
Steve Nelson, Chief Executive Officer at Wesport:
Steve is committed to and has a great passion for the role sport and physical activity can playing in transforming lives. He believes people within organisations can make a difference and works to bring the best out of all colleagues.
As Chief Executive of the West of England Sport Trust (Wesport), he leads the development of this Active Partnership to achieve its' vision to Inspire active lives, creating the conditions wherever possible to help everyone move more.
His background includes:
- Professional Basketball player for 15 years (England International)
- Head of Development for England Basketball
- Creating the County Sports Partnership for Sussex, and Wesport.
- Numerous non-executive roles in the sport, culture and voluntary sectors
Outside of work, he is a volunteer basketball coach at junior national league level, with his team crowned under 18 men’s national champions in 2011. He has developed and supported more than a dozen players that have gone on to represent England or GB, including his son and daughter.
Alex Raikes MBE DL, Chief Exec. at SARI:
Alex became Chief Executive of Stand Against Racism & Inequality (SARI) in January 2024. SARI is a leading, regional hate crime charity, based in Bristol and operating throughout the Avon & Somerset area. Alex joined the charity as their first caseworker in 1991 under the leadership of the founder Director the late Batook Pandya MBE DL. Alex has gone on to be a driving force in SARI and its surrounding areas for tackling racism and hate crime; ensuring a best practice response by responsible agencies and ensuring that conflicts between and within communities are minimised so safety, security and cohesion is maintained for all. Alex is Governance Lead on the Board of the Key Unlock Potential (a new charity developing a social enterprise for ex-offenders); is a member of the University of Bristol Court; was awarded an MBE in 2009 for her contribution to race relations; was made an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of West of England in 2019, was made Deputy Lieutenant of Bristol in July 2020, was the High Sheriff of Bristol 2022-2023, and received an Honorary Doctorate from Bristol University in 2023.
Crucially, as a dual heritage individual with 4 sons, Alex has first-hand experience of racism and running a busy, lively household.
Sarah McLeod, Strategic Lead for Place & Communities at Wesport
Sarah McLeod is Strategic Lead for Place & Communities at Wesport, where she leads the organisation’s work with SARI (Stand Against Racism & Inequality) on No Hate, Just Sport. What began as a “wouldn’t it be great if we could” conversation between the two organisations has grown into a citywide campaign, and Sarah has been central to bringing it to life.
No Hate, Just Sport is a natural extension of the values that drive Sarah’s work. She leads Wesport’s journey to become an actively antiracist organisation and is passionate about breaking down the barriers that make physical activity feel out of reach for some people, whether that’s cost, culture, accessibility, or simply not seeing people like themselves represented. She recognises that inequalities in activity levels are deeply connected to wider social inequalities, and that discrimination and hate in sport can push people away from the very spaces that should welcome them.
Sarah believes lasting change doesn’t come from quick fixes or working in silos. She champions a whole systems approach, working across sectors and bringing together people who might not usually sit around the same table. A natural connector and convener, she knows that working together is the only way to achieve real, long-term change. That conviction is at the heart of No Hate, Just Sport and its growing network of Club Champions. Her goal is simple but powerful: to help create a world where being active is possible for everyone, every day.
Outside of work, Sarah’s life is all about family and friends. She loves sharing good food and cheering on her boys at their sports matches, often from the sidelines in the rain!
Matt Walker, Sport Welfare Officer at Wesport
Matt Walker is a Sport Welfare Officer at Wesport. His role is to work with local clubs and volunteers, providing 1-2-1 support and training opportunities so they can better protect members' welfare and wellbeing whilst they take part in sport. Prior to his role at Wesport, his previous work has supported the International Olympic Committee with their responsibilities to support athletes during game time as well as supporting the implementation of safeguarding standards in UK motorsport.
Matt has been central to the development of No Hate, Just Sport since its inception. He's responsible for writing the suite of guidance documents, finalised the e-learning course, and has led on the development of the Club Champions programme.
Outside of work, he's been an archer for the past 10 years, and from personal experience knows how an inclusive and supportive sports club can truly change how a person takes part in physical activity.
Club champions
Tav
Tav is a second-generation British-born Cantonese, with Cantonese and Vietnamese parents.
He played a wide range of sports growing up, from county junior tennis, college rugby and football to more recently men’s lacrosse .
He has been part of the Bristol Bombers Lacrosse Club since 2017 and has served as the men’s club chair for the past three years. Through his role on the Bristol Civil Service Sports Club Committee where the lacrosse club are based, he hopes to create a club and environment free of hate in sport.
He says that “No Hate, Just Sport” is a very important pilot in such unsettling times in our communities. Sport can be a safe haven for many, so it must be protected.
Milo
Milo has been involved with Downend & Frenchay Tennis Club for nearly a decade, joining the committee in 2022 and becoming Chair in April 2026. He welcomes the No Hate Just Sport campaign as an impactful initiative that raises awareness of unacceptable behaviour, empowers members to speak up when they witness it, and helps create a safer, more inclusive sporting environment for everyone.
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The campaign and social media
Wesport and SARI accounts:
| West of England Sport Trust (Wesport) | ||
| @wesportap |
@saricharity |
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| West of England Sport Trust (Wesport) |
The campaign will use the hashtags - #NoHateJustSport #HateHurts #SilenceHarms #SpeakOut #HateCrimeAwareness
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For media enquiries:
Emily Messenger, Strategic Lead for Marketing, Communications and Insight.
Emily.messenger@wesport.org.uk
07837284668