By Nick Butler

Emma Boggis has been appointed chief executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance ©Sport and Recreation AllianceEmma Boggis has been appointed the new chief executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance, the umbrella organisation for governing and representative bodies in Great Britain.


The Alliance seeks to represent the views of each governing body to decision makers and to promote the interests of sport and recreation to as many people as possible, and a major part of this is building on the legacy of London 2012. 

Boggis seems a natural replacement for interim chief executive Sallie Barker because she joins from being head of the Olympic and Paralympic Legacy Unit in the Cabinet Office, set up in 2012 to support Sebastian Coe in his role as the Prime Minister's Legacy Ambassador.
After starting her career in the British Army, where she had operational tours in Northern Ireland and Kosovo, Boggis also served as private secretary to Prime Minister David Cameron between November 2011 and October 2012, as well as spending two years as Deputy Head of Mission in the British Embassy in Madrid. 

She has also been a non-executive director of the British Paralympic Association since July 2013.

Alliance chairman, former MP Andy Reed, claimed all of this experience will stand the organisation in good stead when she takes up her post in September. 

"We are really pleased that Emma will be joining us to take the Alliance forward with our plans to continually modernise our services and be an effective voice for the sector," he said.

"Boggis has a proven track record in her work with the Legacy Unit and has impressed us all with her insight and experience, and we are confident she will make an immediate impact when she starts in September."

Emma Boggis previously worked alongside Sebastian Coe is his role as Prime Minister's Legacy Ambassador for London 2012 ©Getty ImagesEmma Boggis previously worked alongside Sebastian Coe is his role as Prime Minister's Legacy Ambassador for London 2012 ©Getty Images



Boggis, who joins a growing line of women holding senior roles in British sports administration, along with the likes of Sports and Equalities Minister Helen Grant, is also relishing the opportunity to continue her association with the sports world.

 "I am thrilled to be joining the Alliance," she said.

"Working on the legacy from London 2012 has been a great privilege and experience and I am very happy to be able to continue to develop my association with sport in this new role.

"Sport has played an important part in my life so it is great to have the opportunity to work on behalf of the Alliance's members to support them and the impact they have on others.

"I believe there are many exciting opportunities for sport and recreation and I'm looking forward to playing my part in making sure that every bit of our sector's potential is realised.

"I have already met some of the Alliance's members through my work at the Legacy Unit but my first job will be to get to know the rest, to listen to their priorities and to set to work on making sure that we at the Alliance are doing everything we can to lead the sector and provide our members with the clear and independent voice that they want."

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Related stories
July 2014: British Paralympic Association appoints non-executive directors with London 2012 backgrounds
July 2013: Andy Reed: Legacy - It's not job done, it's what next?