27 March, 2026

The ‘No Ball Games’ sign is a common sight across London, fixed to walls and fences in housing estates and public spaces. What seems like a small instruction has a much wider impact. These signs quietly discourage children from playing outdoors and create a culture that views active play as disruptive rather than healthy and normal.

For young people growing up in areas with limited green space or few organised activities, these signs can be the difference between being active and being shut indoors. Across London, more than 7,000 No Ball Games signs remain in place. This affects over 560,000 children and young people at a time when more than half of young Londoners do not meet recommended activity levels. Moreover, the burden falls unequally. Lower-income communities are far more likely to live in areas where outdoor play is restricted.

In response to this, London Sport partnered with Saatchi & Saatchi in 2025 to launch the More Ball Games campaign. The goal is to encourage policymakers to remove outdated signs and rethink how public spaces can support play, movement and community connection. Every sign that is removed helps around 80 children to be more active close to home.

But removing signs is only the beginning. The real opportunity lies in reimagining how existing spaces can be used. The city may never be able to build enough new facilities to meet future demand, so the focus must shift to unlocking underused and overlooked areas. Housing estates, high streets and community hubs can all become hyper-local places where children feel encouraged to move.

Meaningful behaviour change can begin with simple, visible steps that reshape how people experience the world around them. Reimagining spaces, replacing restrictive cues with enabling ones and giving children permission to play is not just about sport. It is also about a cultural shift that places everyday play and wellbeing at the centre of childhoods and healthy communities.

By Tulika Agarwal