WSA Sports Industry Awards 2026

The Welsh Sports Association (WSA) Sports Industry Awards 2026 will place on Thursday 4 June 2026 – a celebration of the best in Wales’ sport and leisure industry!

This year’s Awards will once again recognised and Promoted the initiatives and successes of WSA members, while also communicating best-practice models and strategies that are helping the Welsh sport and leisure sector to Develop.

We are thrilled to welcome Hodge Bakshi as this year’s Headline Sponsor. Hodge Bakshi is an organisation that has grown in strength for over 40 years to become Cardiff’s largest family firm of Chartered Accountants and Chartered Tax Advisers.

The Awards will see the fantastic work of WSA members recognised across a variety of categories. The shortlisted organisations for each award are…

Best Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative
Sponsored by Freedom2hear

• Basketball Wales, for the Basketball Wales and Guardian Ballers Partnership: The Genesis Project
• South Wales Pan Disability Football League
• Sport Diversity Cymru, for the Wales Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (WEDSA) 2025

Best Initiative to Promote Women in Sport & Physical Activity
Sponsored by Howden

• Cymru Football Foundation and Football Association of Wales, for the Environments For Her + WEURO 2025 Legacy
• Glamorgan Cricket, for Glamorgan Women: A Regional Blueprint for Professionalism and Participation
• Wales Golf, for The AIG Women’s Open Legacy

Best Innovation Award
Sponsored by Hugh James

• Badminton Cymru, for their Child-Led Badminton Wales AGM
• Exist SkatePark and Cerebra (nominated by Disability Sport Wales), for the SkatePark Disability Skateboarding Project
• Welsh Boxing for VR Adaptive Boxing

Best Commitment to the Welsh Language
Sponsored by Hodge Bakshi

• Disability Sport Wales, for Useful Phrases for Trilingual Coaching
• Triathlon Cymru, for Tri Dewi
• Wales Golf, for Golff Cymru – Ein Hymrwymiad i’n Hiaith

Best Sustainability Initiative
Sponsored by Floodlighting and Electrical

• Boys’​ and Girls’​ Clubs of Wales, for the Environmental Adventure Initiative
• Football Association of Wales, for FAW Biodiversity, Nature & Wellbeing
• Wales Golf, for “A Place for Nature”

Best Social Impact Initiative
Sponsored by Sportscover Europe

• Dragons RFC, for Norgine/Movicol: Healthy Dragons Provision
• Gwella, for Gwella Sport Development – Fit, Fed & Read
• Street Football Wales

Best Collaboration Initiative
Sponsored by Sport:80

• Cardiff City FC Community Foundation, for Caerau Kicks
• Actif Sport & Leisure, for Youth Empowerment
• Commonwealth Games Wales, for Leadhership with Cardiff Metropolitan University and RBC Brewin Dolphin

Most Influential Campaign
Sponsored by Mentera

• Badminton Wales, for “Can You Manage?”
• Basketball Wales, for The Red Whistle Campaign: Protecting and Supporting Young Referees
• Welsh Athletics, for the Own The Night Campaign

Best Business Growth Award
Sponsored by 2buy2

• Actif Sport & Leisure, for Business Growth in Llanelli Provision
• Glamorgan Cricket, for Capitalising on Welsh Fire Franchise Investment
• MyRounders, for Scaling Wales’ Social Sport Movement

Why Apply?

Winning a WSA Sports Industry Award will showcase your organisation’s outstanding work and achievement throughout the Sport and Leisure sector in Wales. Additionally, the profile of winning an Award will also be brought to the attention of influential stakeholders within the sector such as Welsh Government, Sport Wales, Community Leisure UK, WSA Partners and the media. Moreover, your excellent work will be showcased to other WSA Members as exemplar models for the sector.

Don’t forget, a FREE ticket is available alongside a purchased ticket should you be shortlisted for an Award! 

Who Can Apply?

All member organisations of the Welsh Sports Association on or before 1st March 2025 are eligible. WSA member organisations can also apply on behalf of their own members. For more detail on our eligibility criteria, visit our terms and conditions.

What makes a winning entry?

The judging panel will need as detailed information as possible within the application guidelines. The judging panel recognise that the WSA Membership is diverse and resources differ greatly from one organisation to another. However, video entries bringing projects to life will be advantageous.

Work should have the potential to create significant impact for the sector. This impact will demonstrate a combination of positive outcomes. Impact might be achieved by the growth of the organisation applying, or by the spread of their ideas to its members or other organisations.  Applicants should also show good governance and management.