Leicester has been named the greatest sporting city in the UK according to a new academic study.
The home of De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) claimed the top spot in a tightly contested top four ahead of London, Manchester and Liverpool in new research carried out by online sports broadcaster ESPN.co.uk and the University of Bath.
Propelled by last season’s historic title win for Leicester City, the city climbed 17 places from 18th last year and earned a maximum score in five factors – success, matchday atmosphere, local talent, community and social.
And DMU – as the official higher education partner to Leicester City – has matched the trend, bolstering the work it does to offer sporting opportunities to students and beyond, across the community.
The university recently opened a new £1 million home for its sports and societies – The Watershed – and is spending nearly £1 million on coaching and support for sports teams at the university over the coming year.
The creation of the sports development department – called DMUsport – represents the largest annual investment ever made in sport at the university.
Vice-Chancellor's Sports Scholarships also provide successful students with up to £6,000 of support each; including a £4,000 cash bursary and £2,000 towards sport-specific support, such as; physiotherapy, strength and conditioning, and private medical insurance for example.
And on top of that, Leicester Castle Business School is launching a new master’s to prepare students for a career in the multi-billion pound sporting industry.
But this new study shows students choosing to study at DMU will find a strong and growing community of sport not just at their university, but across the city, too.
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The research put Leicester at the top of the pile out of 49 towns and cities. To compile the list, researchers asked fans to identify 12 factors they felt were important to a great sporting city.
Sport Psychology lecturer Professor Thomas Curran, of the University of Bath, helped carry out the research.
He said: “Leicester deserves all the congratulations it receives. To rank highly, a city must perform well in a variety of key factors which rely on a combination of fan opinion and third party data. To score top marks in five factors is a great achievement.”
Steven Saunders, Senior Editor of ESPN.co.uk, said: “Leicester topping the rankings as ESPN's Greatest Sporting City 2016 is another amazing achievement for the city, especially considering the traditional sporting powerhouses such as London and Manchester that it has beaten to the top spot.”
Posted on Tuesday 23 August 2016