Three in five adults in England say extreme weather has had a negative impact on their ability to be physically active, according to new research by Sport England.
The funding agency is announcing a new investment package “to help sports battle climate change” as part its first environmental and sustainability strategy.
A total of £45m will be used “to help more people get active in nature, restore flooded sports pitches and help sports clubs become sustainable”.
Major sports governing bodies will also be required to tackle climate change through “robust sustainability action plans” by 2027 in order to receive public funding.
“Extreme weather is increasingly making it difficult for us to live healthy, active lives (…) with sporting opportunities increasingly cancelled and disrupted,” Sport England’s chair Chris Boardman told BBC Sport.
“The FA has estimated that 120,000 football games will be lost each year. A third of community pitches are already unplayable for two months of the year due to flooding – and it’s only going to get worse.
“If places to play are unavailable, people will go and do something other than sport and physical activity, leading to small clubs going under and vital community organisations disbanding.”