The Churchill Fellowship is a UK charity which supports individual UK citizens to follow their passion for change, through learning from the world and bringing that knowledge back to the UK. I was awarded one in their Physical Activity Stream. 

I’m Daniel Grant, a medical doctor, charity leader, and Churchill Fellow exploring how something as simple as a wall and a ball can change lives. As the Chair and Founder of 1Wall UK (formerly UK Wallball), I lead a movement that turns empty urban spaces into vibrant sporting hubs, using the fast, inclusive game of wallball to tackle inactivity, social inequality, and loneliness.

I was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to investigate how 1Wall Handball and other street sports drive community health and cohesion across the Americas. My travels took me to the USA, Mexico, Argentina and Uruguay, where I met grassroots organisers, athletes, and policymakers who use sport not only to get people moving but to connect them, build pride, and create opportunity. The Fellowship deepened my belief that accessible sport is a social prescription — one that can sit alongside traditional healthcare to improve wellbeing, resilience, and belonging.

My Fellowship report and ongoing work focus on how this model can be scaled in the UK, linking local schools, councils and developers with communities to create spaces that are open, joyful, and sustainable. My project aligns with national priorities such as Sport England’s “Uniting the Movement” strategy and the NHS’s focus on prevention and population health. The impact is already visible: 1Wall UK projects are running in London, Manchester and other cities, blending sport with education, art and youth leadership.

Trained as a doctor, I like to bring a public-health lens to everything I do - asking not just how people play, but why they don’t. My medical background informs a practical yet empathetic approach to social change, and I recognise that health is shaped as much by environment, connection and confidence as by clinical care.

My mission is simple: to show that you don’t need a stadium, a membership or even a team to belong in sport. All you need is a wall, a ball, and someone willing to play.