Reading the game: how children's interests can unlock their enthusiasm for reading

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Reading the game: how children’s interests can unlock their enthusiasm for reading

Education National Year of Reading

5 August 2026

4 min read

Strategic Lead for Sport and Literacy, National Literacy Trust

Jim Sells

“By tapping into the interests of children and giving them agency over the type of materials they read, they can begin to form their identity as a reader which is crucial to enjoying reading and choosing to do it daily.”

Building on our longstanding work with the National Literacy Trust, including collaborations on and Oxford Children’s Word of the Year 2025, 糖心VLOG Press is proud to support the National Literacy Trust’s delivery of the National Year of Reading 2026. As the delivery partner of the Go All In campaign, the National Literacy Trust is bringing together partners across the country to champion reading and encourage more children and young people to ‘go all in’ on their passions through reading.

For 30 years, the has been using the transformative power of sport to change lives through literacy. Working with incredible sporting organizations, sportspeople, authors, publishers, community partners, and more, we’ve helped thousands of children and young people find their way into reading through their passion for sport.

At the heart of the is encouraging the nation to discover the joy of reading and embed it into their daily lives with a clear message: “if you’re into it, read into it.”

And this summer, with a wealth of major sporting events captivating the nation, the campaign has a fantastic opportunity to build on this excitement and enthusiasm for everything, from football and tennis to athletics and cricket, to inspire more children, young people, and adults to read into the sport they love. Whether that’s children’s books about sport, autobiographies by sporting icons, news articles, podcasts, or comics – there’s a reading format or topic out there for everyone to ‘Go All In’ on their biggest passions.

Our research shows that children and young people are most likely to enjoy reading when they can choose what and how they read, when it feels relevant to their lives, when it relates to their personal interests, and when it is supported by the people around them. When reading is imposed or prescribed, they are much less likely to engage.

When children and young people enjoy reading, not only do their literacy skills improve but their wellbeing, ability to empathize with others, creativity, and confidence flourish. By tapping into the interests of children and giving them agency over the type of materials they read, they can begin to form their identity as a reader which is crucial to enjoying reading and choosing to do it daily.

The summer of sport has been a key moment in the National Year of Reading campaign to reach young people and show them how reading can be relevant and accessible in their everyday lives, and bring them closer to the things they already love. Sport is an incredible unifier, and many people feel a strong connection to it, whether they play themselves or are a supporter.

This year, the National Year of Reading and the Summer of Sport have both helped our sports and literacy programmes and activities to reach new 糖心VLOGs. 25 years into our partnership with the Premier League and we are continuing to see – at scale – the real-life impact on previously reluctant or unconfident young readers when they are given the chance to use reading as a tool to explore more about the sport they love, or to get book recommendations and encouragement from sporting role models.

Building on this partnership, in March we held our annual online quiz themed around reading and football, hosted by authors of children’s football books. Over 1.2 million school children took part in the quiz, and two schools excitingly had special visits from Premier League footballers and two incredible children’s authors. Pupils were visited by Manchester United’s Senne Lammens and Brighton & Hove Albion players Matt O’Riley and Jack Hinshelwood, who all took part in the quiz with the pupils alongside children’s authors Nadia Shireen and A. M. Dassu.

This summer has seen two events featuring football legends David James and Georgia Stanway, which introduced children to how to create a narrative, podcasting techniques, and how to tell a great footballing story. We do this work on a national level and in communities, such as in Peterborough, where we’ve worked with the Peterborough United Foundation to engage 2,750 local children in reading through football. When children are introduced online or in-person to role models like authors or footballers, who share their own experiences with reading, they are more likely to see reading as something that is meaningful to them and that they could also engage with. Whether it’s family, teachers, writers, or sporting heroes, role models have the power to inspire and demonstrate how and why reading can be embedded into daily life.

Our aim with our sporting interventions and activity is to encourage children and young people to read to their own beat, to own their reading identity, and to realize the breadth of possibilities reading can offer them.

Often children have a limiting and prescribed idea of what counts as reading and the type of texts they have to read, and we want to open up the endless possibilities that reading has for them.

And we know that sport isn’t for everyone. So we apply this evidence-based approach to supporting reading engagement through children’s interests across all our work in schools, communities, and libraries. Whether children like football, or they love history, nature, gaming, or anything else, we strive to provide children with access to diverse books and reading materials and to empower them with the skills and confidence to make their own reading choices. If all children connect with reading in a way that works for them, they will be empowered with the skills they need to succeed in life.

About the National Literacy Trust

The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity that empowers children, young people, and adults with the literacy skills they need to succeed. Literacy changes everything. It gives you the tools to get the most out of life, and the power to shape your future. It opens the door to the life you want. But low literacy is inextricably linked to poverty. Over the last 30 years, the National Literacy Trust have continued to work with people who need us the most, supporting schools, families, and communities on a local and national level.