Foundation which helps athletes prepare for retirement adds new directors

Leon Lloyd, the former Leicester Tigers rugby player, has joined athlete transition foundation Switch The Play as a director.

Switch The Play is a social enterprise which helps elite athletes prepare for a life away from sport in collaboration with sports organisers and practitioners.

Lloyd – who also won five caps for England between 1999 and 2002 – will be joined by former Metro Bank managing director Chris Brindley on the organisation’s board of directors, which already includes James Ellis, Steve Mitchell and Rob Young MBE.

“Having experienced first-hand the terrifying process of transitioning out of elite sport, I am committed to ensuring support structures are available for athletes,” said Lloyd.

Brindley added that the “drive, teamwork and dedication” of elite athletes would be “wasted” without support and development following retirement.

Transitioning athletes into work or other endeavours following retirement is a key consideration for the Duty of Care working group set up by the government as part of its Sporting Future strategy. Switch The Play will be submitting evidence to a consultation being held by the group, which is chaired by Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.