What is BUCS?
BUCS (British University and College Sport) is a membership association in the United Kingdom that covers over 165 universities and colleges, with 6,000 teams competing in 850 leagues. It is the United Kingdom’s regulating organization for higher education sport. They organize over 52 inter-university sports in the country, as well as representative teams for the World University Championships and World University Games. The BUCS League was founded when the British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport (UCS) consolidated in June 2008.
BUCS organize the sports at the regional, national, and international levels. It applies for annual funding from Sports England to support the delivery of student sport across the country. They also collaborate with national authorities to develop sports in the student sector. Moreover, the governing bodies sponsor some BUCS positions in order to develop a specific sport for students.
source: https://www.bucs.org.uk/
The mission
To assist grow grassroots football, the Football Association funds programs and roles within BUCS. The organization invested in the establishment of 62 Football Grassroot Hubs to encourage football and futsal in higher education, impacting little under 70,000 students. Also, they collaborated with The FA (Football Association) to establish the Women’s Leadership Programme, which teaches women key skills and attributes to help them succeed in the future, whether they remain in football or not.
Latest
On the 20th of October, the BUCS League hosts men’s football matches at Queens’ College and Robinson College Sports Ground. The Blues and Falcons of CUAFC defeated Leicester University and Coventry University, respectively, by three points.
In the last week of October 2021, the Cambridge women’s team won the Waikato Women’s Division 2 under the guidance of the BUCS League. The teams competed in two full rounds of games, one at home and one away. With a higher goal difference than nearest competitors Ngaruawahia United, the team won the title.
Also in the last week of October, BUCS won the ‘Gender Equality Project’ Award thanks to FA’s collaboration with the “Women‘s Leadership Programme”. No doubt, a fantastic achievement for BUCS. The objective of FISU is to provide university students with chances to seek greatness in both intellect and body.
“We have been relentlessly pushing forward women’s sport and emphasizing gender equality, therefore we are ecstatic that this programme has been recognized on a worldwide basis. This award has made a difference in the lives of outstanding women by putting their careers in the spotlight.”
BUCS’ CEO –
Professor Craig Mahoney
Upcoming from BUCS
CARDIFF MET RFC’s first team will face LEEDS BECKEET University Senior Men in a BUCS match on November 3rd at 19:00. Furthermore, on November 6 at 16:00, a highly exciting match will be played between Nottingham Forest and Preston North End.
For the first time in its existence, the University of Westminster will participate in the BUCS 1st Division this season. Westminster is presently ranked among the top 12 institutions in the UK’s South Region. On Wednesday, October 13th, Westminster 1st played at the University of Sussex. In November 2021, the Dragons will play their inaugural match in the BUCS National Trophy facing the University of Southampton.
Each team and individual contestant competes for points as well as to win their league or competition. These points are used to rank over 140 different higher education institutions in an overall ranking. The organization provides a terrific chance for people to enjoy high-quality sport right on their doorstep by hosting these events.
