SportCheer England Secures National Governing Body Recognition

SportCheer England has been formally recognized by Sport England as the National Governing Body for cheerleading in England, completing a major step in the sport’s decades-long push for official recognition and governance.

The designation means cheerleading in England is now both recognized as a sport and represented by a recognized governing body for the first time.

Sport England’s official directory now lists cheerleading as a recognized sport and SportCheer England as its National Governing Body. The recognition covers a sport SportCheer England estimates includes more than 89,000 athletes participating at recreational, competitive and elite levels across the country.

“Historic milestone sees Sport England recognise SportCheer England as the National Governing Body for cheerleading in England, opening a new chapter for one of the country’s fastest-growing sports,” SportCheer England announced.

The organization said the decision follows the recognition of cheerleading as a sport by the Home Nations’ Sports Councils in March 2025. That initial recognition established cheerleading’s standing as a sport, but it did not immediately provide SportCheer England with National Governing Body status.

The latest decision closes that gap.

National Governing Body recognition provides a formal framework for SportCheer England to oversee the sport’s continued development, including governance, safeguarding, coach education, club support and athlete pathways. It also strengthens the organization’s ability to pursue funding and work alongside England’s broader sports system.

The milestone follows years of work to create a unified governing structure for British cheerleading.

In April 2009, representatives from the British Cheerleading Association, Scotcheer and the United Kingdom Cheerleading Association ratified SportCheerGB as an overarching nonprofit federation. The organization was created to represent British cheerleaders before international sports bodies while supporting efforts to secure domestic recognition.

That early initiative helped lay the groundwork for the present Home Nations structure and SportCheer UK, the collective body representing the cheerleading governing organizations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

SportCheer England is also recognized by the International Cheer Union as the federation responsible for cheerleading in England. The International Cheer Union received full recognition from the International Olympic Committee in 2021.

SportCheer Scotland and SportCheer Wales previously secured both sport and National Governing Body recognition in their respective nations. England’s completed recognition process now marks another significant step toward a coordinated governance structure for cheerleading throughout the United Kingdom.

For English clubs, coaches and athletes, the announcement represents more than official terminology. It establishes a recognized national authority responsible for supporting the sport, setting standards and representing its participants within the country’s established sports framework.

SportCheer England’s addition to the Sport England directory confirms the completion of a recognition effort that began long before the organization’s formation—and more than 17 years after British cheerleading organizations first publicly united behind the goal.