The Sport and Recreation Alliance has produced research on sports clubs across Europe, looking at participation levels, facilities, finance, social inclusion and volunteering. Key findings include:
– 70% of membership is male, 30% is female
– 25% of sports clubs have no disabled members
– 26% of clubs said none of their members were over 65
– 15% ran targeted initiatives to encourage disabled people, and 11% to encourage over 65s, to join their club
– 41% of sports clubs own a sports facility
– 25% of clubs said sports club availability was a serious problem
– 18% of clubs had at least one problem which ‘threatened its existence’.
The report is useful in providing the sports sector with understanding into current provision and engagement levels.