Consumer
Sports participation
Participation patterns and sports trends shaping demand—tracking which activities are growing or declining, endurance sports evolution, emerging sports adoption, fitness movements, barriers to participation, and the behavioral shifts driving sporting goods consumption.
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Rugby State of Play 2026
Rugby’s recovery is led by pre-teens and women. Brands still targeting adult club rugby are on the wrong side of the demand curve.
Record numbers. New players. The soccer boom in the US is already here.
SFIA data shows U.S. soccer at peak participation, driven by Hispanic growth, female re-engagement, and millennials.
Female participation reorders the US golf market
Female on-course participation in the US hit a record 8.1 million in 2025 — surpassing a 2006 peak that stood for nearly two decades.
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Sign up for freeSTATE OF PLAY: SPORTS PARTICIPATION BY THE NUMBERS
Sport participation: Triathlon finds a new consumer
Younger athletes and rising female participation are reshaping the multisport market – and redefining who sporting goods brands need to reach.
Golf: The 2026 State of Play
The 9-hole round, screen golf and digital apps are rewriting the rulebook on who plays golf and how.
Racquet Sports: The 2026 State of Play
106 million tennis players, 35 million padel converts, 24 million pickleball players in the US alone. What the 2026 data tells brands and investors.
Women’s football: state of play
196 million fans. €500m revenue. 75% of clubs without a kit sponsor. The white space in women’s football is larger than the industry thinks.
Latest news and numbers
Rugby State of Play 2026
Rugby’s recovery is led by pre-teens and women. Brands still targeting adult club rugby are on the wrong side of the demand curve.
Record numbers. New players. The soccer boom in the US is already here.
SFIA data shows U.S. soccer at peak participation, driven by Hispanic growth, female re-engagement, and millennials.
Female participation reorders the US golf market
Female on-course participation in the US hit a record 8.1 million in 2025 — surpassing a 2006 peak that stood for nearly two decades.
Golf: The 2026 State of Play
The 9-hole round, screen golf and digital apps are rewriting the rulebook on who plays golf and how.
ISO 25808: Establishing global standards for the padel industry
The padel industry is building its first global technical standard. Here’s what ISO 25808 means for investors, operators and court builders.
Beyond the logo: what brands gain from mass participation sports
A 7.8% surge in event participation is reshaping where sporting goods brands can build durable equity – if they look past the finish-line banner.
Report: Europe’s fitness market breaks records in 2025
The 2026 EuropeActive/Deloitte report shows the sector surging past €39bn in revenue, with consolidation accelerating and the US penetration gap still wide open.
Under Armour and DICK’S back youth sports
Two of sport’s biggest brands are putting their weight behind a youth tournament platform with national reach.
Record US sport participation masks deep gaps
A historic milestone for US sports participation — yet most Americans still don’t meet weekly activity guidelines, new SFIA data shows.
Sport participation: Triathlon finds a new consumer
Younger athletes and rising female participation are reshaping the multisport market – and redefining who sporting goods brands need to reach.
SportsShoes Running Report: one in six Brits run
Younger generations lead UK running participation as the sport maintains a stable base — with motivations, barriers and technology habits mapped across 5,000 Brits.
Golf leads adult sport participation in Wales
Wales Government National survey confirms golf as Wales’s biggest adult sport, with membership up 7% and women’s participation nearly tripling in three years.
Women’s football: state of play
196 million fans. €500m revenue. 75% of clubs without a kit sponsor. The white space in women’s football is larger than the industry thinks.
Challenge Family brings triathlon to Shanghai
The endurance events operator adds a Shanghai coastal race to its global calendar, targeting China’s growing appetite for premium participatory sport.
Social: female athletes’ biggest asset – and liability
Women’s sports revenue is growing faster than men’s. Female athletes generate more social engagement. But visibility carries a cost brands rarely pay for.
US tennis hits record 27.3 million players
Adults 35+ drove nearly all growth, while more than 4.9 million Americans picked up a racquet for the first time.
GB triathlon participation returns to growth
120,000 active triathletes recorded in 2025 – but the sport remains 28,000 below its pre-pandemic peak.
Spain sees sports participation surge to 62.7%
Ministry survey reveals sports participation jumped 5.4% since 2022, with women narrowing the gender gap and professional coaching seeing significant growth.
US golf participation hits eight-year growth streak
On-course participation surpassed 29 million in 2025, marking eight consecutive years of growth and reinforcing the sport’s resilience
Visa Study: AI reshapes winter sports participation
AI is reshaping how Americans engage with winter sports, with 44% planning snowboarding bookings inspired by the Olympics, Visa study shows.
Fans and sports: what can be improved? New research
New research identifies a “joy gap” in sports: fans want 90-minute experiences with light spectacle and micro-agency, not scripted drama or endless games.
Ironman reports record registrations in 2025
The organization has reported over 250,000 race registrations across Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events in the season.
France sports economy reaches €78bn
Banking group BPCE report reveals French sports economy represents 2.7% of GDP, with 147,000 companies and strong post-Olympics momentum.
Intelligence, analysis and advice for the global sporting goods industry.
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