Recognised sports and national governing bodies (NGBs)

We recognise sports that: 

• are well established 
• are organised within Wales and the UK 
• meet the definition of a sport from the Council of Europe's European Sports Charter 

We recognise an NGB if it: 

• is the single, leading organisation that governs a sport at UK, GB or Wales level  
• has a reasonable level of organisation and governance 

We do not establish or appoint NGBs.  

Recognising an NGB does not: 

• guarantee funding 
• grant any official powers 
• approve the quality of its programmes 

Getting your sport or national governing body recognised

The NGB recognition process is currently closed. 

We expect to open the next window for applications in late Spring 2026. Check this page for updates.

You should continue developing your sport and your organisation’s governance. You can find guidance to help you, including:

• the criteria we’ve used previously to recognise NGBs (PDF, 460 KB, 31 pages)
• information provided by the Sports Governance Academy
• our people and governance framework, Arwain Cymru

Recognised sports and national governing bodies

If your sport is ‘high risk’ and you want to get grant support, you must be affiliated with your sport’s NGB.