Alliance of Sport appoints Sally Benatar to Board of Trustees
The Alliance of Sport has added immense experience and expertise to its Board with the appointment of former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent Sally Benatar QPM as a Trustee.
Sally retired from the Met in 2020 after 31 years’ service and since then has fulfilled several key voluntary trustee roles at organisations that are close to her heart.
She started as a voluntary trustee at London Sport in 2020 and is now Vice-Chair. She is also a Trustee with the British Liver Trust and an Ambassador for the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse.
Sally – who is from the London Borough of Havering and now lives in Taplow, Berkshire – is also a speaker on the Met’s community-centred learning programme for front line police officers and an Associate Facilitator with the Forward Institute Responsible Leadership Programme.
Joining the Alliance of Sport is a reflection of her love of sport and physical activity and passion for prevention. She is a particular advocate for our Get Well, Stay Well initiative (having attended the parliamentary launch at the House of Lords in March) and the Levelling the Playing Field project, which we co-manage with the Youth Justice Board.
“The thing that makes me most passionate and determined is prevention – whether it be crime, ill health or preventing people going down the wrong path in life,” said Sally.
“I think it is so important to have positive activities and interventions before people get to crisis stage, or before they get seriously ill, their mental health spirals or before they start going down the route of criminality or anti-social behaviour.
“I feel strongly that physical activity and sport is the most powerful intervention. I’ve always done lots of sport and exercise and while I recognise that not everybody loves it and that there are barriers to being active, everyone can find something they love that makes them feel good. People may need help and support to find what works for them.”
With her background in policing and the Criminal Justice System, as well as her roles at London Sport, Sally’s CV makes her a perfect fit for the Alliance of Sport as we seek to connect and convene key stakeholders from multiple sectors to utilise the power of sport in reducing crime, violence and reoffending.
She says: “The vision of Alliance of Sport is so clear and fits with my personal passion of using sport and physical activity as a tool for prevention and rehabilitation.
“Get Well, Stay Well is an initiative that to me makes absolute sense. Physical activity and sport are the best form of health promotion and diversion for people who find themselves caught up in the justice and welfare systems. There is a desperate need for more support so people can be active and all sectors need to be engaged in providing it.
“I really want to make a difference and will offer support in any way I can.”