A new study, State of Play, commissioned to look at the impact 39 governing bodies have had in delivering sport in England has revealed that more than 1.8m people belong to sports clubs and almost three million sports competitions took place in England in 2014.

The report was launched alongside a new chief executive officer forum which hopes to act as an independent voice to influence national and local policy on sport.

The research was compiled by Professor Simon Shibli, Head of Sheffield Hallam University Sport Industry Research Centre and aims to present a well-rounded view of governing bodies influence on sport, rather than focusing solely on their medal tallies.

Key facts highlighted in the report include:

• Over 1.8 million people belong to sports clubs [over 1 million more than the total membership of all UK political parties]
• There are over 1.9 million NGB linked volunteers [more than the entire NHS workforce]
• NGB linked volunteering was worth £4.9 billion
• Almost 3 million sports competitions took place in England
• Over 50,000 NGB affiliated clubs exist across England
• 9.3 million people did at least 30 minutes of sport every week [up by almost around 900,000 since 2005/06]
• 317 major events were held in England
• 169 positions were held in international sports administration

Professor Shibley added “It is also interesting to see the huge scale of sports volunteering in England, which is greater than the entire National Health Service workforce.”

“Our research demonstrates the huge impact NGBs are making in the delivery of sport in England at community and elite level, and their growing influence.”

Read the full report