The National Year of Reading has recruited Joe Wicks, Clare Balding, Georgia Stanway and more as Go All In team captains for the UK’s Summer of Sport. The campaign will run from June to August, using sport to help "embed regular reading habits", with activity aligned to events in the sporting calendar, such as Test cricket, the FIFA Men’s Football World Cup, Wimbledon, F1 British Grand Prix, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and the Commonwealth Games in August.

The Go All In team captains announced so far include broadcaster and presenter Clare Balding, tennis pro Tim Henman, England footballer Georgia Stanway, fitness coach and author Joe Wicks, Rugby League Captain Jodie Cunningham and F1 author and commentator Maurice Hamilton. Social media broadcasters Ewan Baggott, Karel Prince, Adam Smith (known as Smithy) and Alex Moneypenny (of The Different Knock channel) are also joining the team, along with YouTubers and children’s book authors 5IVE GUYS FC, who will focus on reaching younger audiences. Final Score presenter Jason Mohammad, BBC commentator John Murray and TV presenter and BBC World Cup Scotland camp reporter Eilidh Barbour will also support the campaign. More names will be be brought on as captains throughout the year.

Captains will be sharing the stories behind the players, the sports and the tournaments across social media and at live events, reflecting on "how reading has helped develop their love of sport, what they read while travelling, training or winding down". The Go All In website’s sport page will feature videos from the Team Captains, recommending books that have shaped their lives. 

Wicks said: "Books and movement have both played such an important role in my life. As a kid, exercise helped build my confidence, resilience and self-belief, and reading can do exactly the same. I’m really proud to support the Go All In Summer of Sport campaign because it’s about helping children discover the joy of stories, imagination and learning in a fun and positive way. If we can inspire even a few more young people to pick up a book this summer and realise that reading is for everyone, that’s a really wonderful thing."

David Hayman, Director of the National Year of Reading, said: "We’re using the power of sport to inspire a love of reading for millions of people of all ages across the UK, sharing the stories behind the medals, moments and matches. Sporting events are some of the most important national talking points of the year, moments that bring generations together. We want to embed reading within that national conversation, so that sharing stories becomes as natural a part of sport as talking about last night’s result."

LoveReading's Sports Book Recommendations

We recently highlighted the 2026 winners of The Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards Winners: "One of the things that feels especially exciting about this event is the wider cultural moment around reading and sport. Sports books are such a powerful gateway into reading for audiences who may not traditionally see themselves as “readers” at all - they come in through passion, fandom, identity and storytelling.

With the National Year of Reading creating renewed focus on reading engagement, and such a huge summer of sport ahead, there’s a real opportunity to position this as part of a much bigger conversation around connecting new audiences with books and ideas through sport."

If you're looking for inspiration beyond the playing field, we've also rounded up some of the best new sports books arriving this summer, from football and cricket to golf, tennis and cycling. Whether you're celebrating Wimbledon with Jessica Bumpus's beautifully illustrated Wimbledon, preparing for another Ashes showdown with Phil Tufnell's Tuffers' Ashes Heroes, or preparing for the World Cup to end all World Cups, with How To Win The World Cup with Chris Evans, there's never been a better time to discover how sport can be a brilliant gateway into reading. Explore our new Summer of Sport Book Collection here.

Whether you’re looking for eye-opening inspirational autobiographies by sportspeople at the top of their game, or insider insights from coaches, managers and journalists, check out our Sports Book category.

LoveReading4Kids' Sports Books for Children

In addition, if you're looking for sports book recommendations for children and young people, we highly recommend you check out our Best Books for Children Who Love series over on LoveReading4Kids - where you'll find recommendations for football, cricket and wider sports books. With more being added every single week of the National Year of Reading.