As we welcome 2026, I find myself reflecting on a year that truly redefined our organisation. If 2024 was a year of resilience and restructuring, 2025 was the year we turned that preparation into action.

To kick us off, in February we officially launched our “Empowering our People” Strategy, moving from planning to delivery with our community placed firmly at the heart of everything we do.

Here is a look back at what we achieved together in 2025 and where we are heading next.

In the 2024 Annual Report, we spoke about restructuring our Performance Pathway to create clear opportunities for players. In 2025, we saw the tangible fruits of that labour.

Delivering on Performance Ambition

I am incredibly proud to announce that the GB Women have qualified for the 2026 World Championships. This is a testament to the dedication of our athletes and the strengthened coaching team we assembled over the last two years.

Building on the pilots mentioned in our last report, we have formally begun the development of Regional Performance Centres. These hubs are now supporting players both within and outside of our performance pathway, reducing travel barriers and increasing training time.

Our Player Recruitment Drive was a success, bringing fresh talent into the sport, and we are delighted to have welcomed new clubs into the fold, reversing the trend of club closures we fought against in 2024.

Great Britain Men and Women standing together in a line, side by side, at the opening ceremony of the IBSA goalball European A Championships. Everyone is wearing navy blue Great Britain jackets, tracksuit bottoms or shorts.
GB Women, GB Men, and the Goalball Academy players and staff in one big Performance Pathway photo. Everyone is huddled together with their arms around one another after a successful competition and camp. Players at the front are holding the Goalball Academy flag.
Group photo of GB women celebrating by lifting the trophy and waving a union jack flag

Competition, Community and Inclusion

In February it was great to support Fen Tigers to deliver on the bid won in 2024, to host a Champions League Competition. This was a landmark moment, bringing European club goalball to UK soil for the first time.

We successfully delivered the Goalball UK International Trophy that not only showcased high-level international goalball but provided vital competitive experience for players across the pathway.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion has never been stronger. In 2025, we took specific, actionable steps to ensure Goalball UK welcomes everyone.

We worked closely with the Islamic community within goalball, listening to their needs and altering the season structure to be more inclusive of their religious observances. We continued the momentum of the “This Girl Can” initiatives by delivering another successful This Girl Can Open. Furthermore, with support from Sports Aid, we partnered with the FA to deliver a Female Futures programme, creating new pathways for women in sport.

We know that our sport cannot function without the dedication of our workforce and volunteers. In 2025, we focused heavily on education and development.

Coach Education was a key priority, and we realigned our staff to develop better educational offers, including the delivery of new workshops such as specific sessions on ‘attack’. We have started to grow our Tutor Workforce, specifically inducting new tutors for the school leaders’ course to meet the demand in education settings. To make officiating more accessible, we refreshed our online courses and content, specifically for Referees and the ‘Introduction to Officiating’.

These are just some of the highlights the team have delivered on. It is important not to forget these things are in addition to delivering on the Domestic Competition that takes place over 30+ weekends.

A female player for South Wales about to throw a goalball during a game, wearing a red jersey with black leggings. She is taking the shot from the centre position.
Officials Group Photo
A player throwing the ball.

Strong Governance, Safer Sport

Behind the scenes, we have worked hard to ensure Goalball UK remains a robust and safe organisation. We have achieved full compliance with the Sports Governance Code and successfully worked on and rolled out our Adult Safeguarding Implementation plan. We were also pleased to appoint three new Trustees to our Board, bringing fresh perspectives to our governance.

Building on the Momentum in 2026

As we look forward, the momentum continues. 2026 promises to be another exciting chapter for our sport.

From a performance perspective our primary performance focus will be supporting the GB Women as they compete on the world stage, while the GB Men will strive for promotion back to the European A division.

I am thrilled to share that work has begun to relaunch our Bi-Annual Conference in 2026. This will be a vital space for us to come together, learn, and celebrate as a community.

To ensure we keep meeting your needs, we have begun developing a new membership survey that will be shared early this year. Your feedback in 2024 helped drive our satisfaction rates to over 92%, and we want to keep that trend going.

Thank you to our players, volunteers, partners, and funders for making 2025 a year of empowerment. Let’s make 2026 a year of consolidation and improvement.

Mark Winder
CEO, Goalball UK