Who We Are

The geographical region called the ‘Black Country’ is made up of 30 towns and four strategic centres with a growing population of 1.2m. The population is broken down by a gender split that is slightly more women than men and a diverse ethnic population which is slightly larger than national average.

Sitting at the heart of England, the Black Country forms the west part of the West Midlands Metropolitan Area comprising the three separate Borough councils of Walsall, Dudley and Sandwell, and the City of Wolverhampton Council. It has a proud and diverse history with a belief that it is a place not defined by its borders, but by its people.

Physical inactivity costs the economy nearly £20 billion every year.

Sport England's social value model – published in late 2025 – highlights the critical role of sport and physical activity in improving wellbeing, reducing healthcare costs and boosting the economy. Active lifestyles prevent more than 3.3 million cases of chronic health conditions a year - including 1.3m cases of depression, 900,000 cases of back pain and 700,000 cases of type 2 diabetes 

Nationally, the Black Country is the region with the highest levels of inactivity at 34.9%, way above the England average of 24.7%. Across the four local authorities, Sandwell is the place with the most inactive adult population. Active Lives data from Sport England, published in April 2026, underlined that where people live, their socio-economic background, gender and ethnicity have a major impact on how likely they are to be active. More than 573,400 Black Country people live in 20% most deprived parts of England. 

Critically, the health and wellbeing of our region's children and young people is in a dire state, with childhood obesity amongst the highest in the country.

The Active Lives Children & Young People Survey 2024/25 shows that 50.1% (89,500) of 5–16-year-olds in the Black Country are achieving 60+ minutes of activity a day – a 7.1% increase on the previous year's figures. But the proportion of ‘less active’ children and young people – those who achieve less than an average 30 minutes activity per day – is just 28.1%, which is just below the national average.

We work collaboratively with a range of local partners to inspire and enable people to lead an active lifestyle, creating a broad and diverse range of opportunities for individuals that are both inclusive and attainable

As a commissioner:
Where we hold programme investment we will distribute our funding in line with addressing inequalities, working with those greatest in need to realise a broader impact.

As an enabler:
We will seek to strengthen communities across the Black Country and support those partnerships who can support great community led activity.

As a lead, a broker or a facilitator:
We will strengthen our networks locally, regionally and nationally actively sharing ideas, knowledge and evidence. We will collaborate with those who can make a difference and reflect the diversity across our communities. We recognise we can’t deliver this vision alone and will play our part, leading from the front or supporting from behind, to ensure our common purpose is realised.

As an innovator:
Embracing new ideas from people, communities and partners with fresh approaches to complex problems. We will be open to ideas generation, new approaches, partners and thereby grow new best practices. As an advocate: We will champion the Black Country and continuously seek to promote and advance its successes within the region and to a wider audience.

As an advocate:
We will champion the Black Country and continuously seek to promote and advance its successes within the region and to a wider audience.

As an interpreter:
We will understand the needs of the communities and individuals which we seek to represent and serve.