Why we cannot have a Commonwealth Games legacy when ‘no ball game’ signs remain in place

They all want something amazing to stand as their contribution to public service - something tangible and, if possible, life changing. A few also like to think it’ll lead to those magical letters ‘OBE’ imprinted after their name.

The announcement that Glasgow is to host the 2026 games got me wondering what exactly the legacy of the 2014 gathering was. Ask Google and you get numbers - lots of them. National pride rose 75% said a survey, gym membership soared 96%, although how many of that 96% set foot inside more than once is a matter for debate, and tourism grew in Glasgow.

But we need to look beyond the glib data to find the real legacy. Refurbished venues? Tick. More sporting events coming to the city? Tick.

But, the Scottish Government’s own analysis suggested the economic and health impacts were maybe underwhelming. People who were active were encouraged to be more active, but those who were not and, let’s be honest that is a huge chunk of our population, didn’t see much changing once the show had left town.

The buzz of being trackside for a major event was memorable, but fleeting. As a kid I can recall the thrill of the Commonwealth Games coming to Edinburgh for the very first time, but that was when the games had a wow factor. The velodrome has long since been demolished after lying abandoned for years, and the rickety-1970s stadium, which really wasn’t that good, has been replaced with something that remains this side of ‘modest’ for a city of such standing.

The very fact the state of Victoria in Australia is happy to pay us multi millions to take a stripped-down version of the 2026 games off their hands ought to have been a red flag.

We’re told the games won’t cost us a penny, but no-one really believes that. Every major event runs over budget, and if this one does then we’ll be left with the obligatory review which will promise that lessons will be learned before being placed on a shelf where it will quietly gather dust.

But, for me, the biggest worry is that everything has changed since 2014, and attempting to turn back time to re-imagine that buzz is a folly.

Lockdown had a profound impact on our lives, and there’s a hellish cost of living crisis suffocating the life out of entire communities. Our public services are falling apart, and sport, leisure and the creative arts are all facing fights for survival.

Sport brings people together and creates amazing memories, but I wonder how many of those volunteers who put their heart and soul into keeping their clubs going will feel when the circus rolls into town? That grassroots network is where every single elite sportsperson started out. That grassroots network is now hanging on by its fingernails as funding is scythed and facilities decay to the point of being unusable.

Without the commitment, energy and passion of the volunteers who identify and nurture new talent, and give people a place to train and, perform, we wouldn’t even have the next generation of athletes to step on to a global stage - but so much of what they do is just taken for granted.

One-off events don’t create legacies. They offer platforms for something tangible, but that has to be planned for, and with cuts decimating absolutely every part of that structure, the time and resource that will be poured into this Commonwealth-Lite event would be better diverted into helping those clubs.

And if you want to start a legacy, how about just removing every single ‘no ball games’ sign from every park, housing estate and street?