This next week is packed with sporting action - the UEFA European Championship, Wimbledon, the Tour de France and the Lions tour will all deliver fantastic moments for fans. And this weekend will see athletes fight to secure their sport for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games at the Müller British Athletics Championships.

It is, however, a huge shame that the action isn’t being carried on terrestrial television in the UK. Capitalising on moments to inspire a whole generation is more vital now than it’s ever been.

The pandemic has been the biggest wake-up call in a generation. After a year of missed activity and kids not even being able to play with their friends, every sport needs to work to get more people playing and find new ways to engage with audiences at a participation level.

Sport England’s recent Active Lives survey told us that one in four people are failing to complete half an hour of exercise a week, while almost eight in 10 children are failing to amass the hour a day of activity that is seen as vital to their development.

Sport has a chance to inspire people to get moving, and athletics in particular has a huge moment in time to get people involved. As a sport, athletics has a broad appeal that few others can offer. There is a discipline or activity for absolutely everyone, whether you want to run as fast as you can, jump high in the air, or throw as far as possible. Its beauty is in its simplicity, and that is how the sport can appeal to a generation and inspire them to get moving as we exit the pandemic.

That is why all of us at Müller are so proud to be involved with events like this weekend’s British Athletics Championships, as well as the Anniversary Games in Gateshead next month. Our partnership with the sport is all about getting the nation active and healthier and it’s a thrill to continue to grow our involvement in athletics.

On a personal level, it’s a partnership that I am extremely privileged to lead. I have been involved in sport all my life; I was part of a professional football academy in France during my teens, and I was lucky enough to win the men’s over 20s category at the All-England Shotokan Karate Championships in 2013 - despite a broken finger 3 weeks before the competition.

More recently I have been undertaking a journey into coaching having discovered a love for athletics through Müller’s partnership with British Athletics. I am now part of the coaching team at my local athletics club having completed my Level 1 and 2 coaching qualifications.

The experience has been incredibly affirming. It is both inspiring and humbling to see first-hand the marvellous generosity and commitment of the coaching community, and to see grassroots sport thriving despite all the challenges being thrown its way right now.

I believe that now more than ever, brands need to recognise the incredible impact that sport can have at all levels, and play their part by investing in the power of community sport.

The time is now for brands who have a stake in sport to play a major role in getting more people moving and building active communities - they must step up and play their part in helping rebuild Britain as a sporting nation which supports everyone from top to bottom.

It should no longer be acceptable to sponsor the "crown jewel" events - Euros, Olympics, etc - without showing a strong, meaningful and lasting commitment to building a healthier nation. I believe that this starts within community sport and physical activity.

At Müller, we are constantly striving to do more work with local communities around our big sporting events, and we are proud to work so closely with British Athletics in inspiring a new generation. It gives me enormous satisfaction seeing the young fans at our activation zones as they engage with legends, take on some fun fitness challenges, then go watch their icons in the flesh in the stadium. Put a smile on their face, and the activity will come naturally.

With the UK needing perhaps the biggest transformation in living memory post pandemic, we must all work together to build back stronger - with the power of sport on our side. Hopefully the action this weekend, at Gateshead in July, and onto Tokyo, is just the start of athletics inspiring a whole new generation to get out and get active.