Sport England and the Fitness Industry Association (FIA) have announced the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help increase sporting participation.

The agreement is designed to recognise that, as well as national governing bodies, operators have the capability and knowledge to help encourage more people to take part in sport. Both Sport England and the FIA will collaborate on a range of areas, including the support for operators to build mutually beneficial relationships with national governing bodies.

The development of projects with commercial partners and to meet the strategic aims of both organisations feature in the MoU, along with the creation of new benchmarking tools. A contribution to the digital legacy from the 2012 Games is also planned, by creating online capabilities for the sector to enable, for example, people to find their nearest sports facilities.

Sport England property director Charles Johnston said: "This agreement further strengthens our relationship with the FIA as we deepen the links between operators and the rest of the sport sector." FIA chief executive officer Dave Stalker added: "Our strategic goals are aligned so working together to increase participation and bring benefits to the sector makes perfect sense."

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