Football has undergone a growth of 36,500 weekly participants (aged 16 yrs plus) in the last six months. This is a positive result following a poor winter, which impacted on our 11v 11 numbers. However a strong performance in small-sided led to overall growth in this period.
Overall over the full year the underlying trend remains flat. A summary is outlined below.
From the initial data release the headlines are:
· Over the last 6 months we have seen an overall growth
o Increased overall weekly participation by 36,500, including an additional 30,000 in the 26+ age group
o This is due to on-going growth in outdoor small-sided football, in spite of the winter period and driven by participation of the 16-25 age group
o Female participation saw a slight decline from 119k to 113k participants, highlighting the need for a focused Women’s Strategy
o Disability also saw numbers decline (-6,000) -it is accepted that these numbers are volatile due to the small sample size
· Weekly participation numbers have followed a broadly flat trend over the last two and a half years
o This stabilisation followed a period of steady decline in 2012 and 2013
o 1.85m 16+ year olds are taking part in football weekly, with a further 0.81m playing at least monthly
o Disability figures, whilst undergoing a small decline in the last six months , have grown steadily during this period
o Since APS 6 (2011-12), the proportion of weekly BME participants has grown from 23% to 25%. This demonstrates the inclusivity of football.
· As expected, we remain “at risk” of missing previously defined targets in the three categories for weekly participation, following the significant fall for all team sports in 2012/13. NB There are no funding reviews following the June data sets; only in December.
Pete Acklerley, the FA’s Head of Participation and Development said:
“We are encouraged by the figures which demonstrate an on-going growth in outdoor small-sided football participation – driven by rise among the traditionally problematic post-school 16-25 age group.
“We collaborate closely with the country’s small sided providers to deliver innovative forms of recreational football and the impact of initiatives such as the FA People’s Cup over the past two years is a prime example. This year more than 35,000 individuals and 4,500 teams took part across more than 100 venues. It was televised by the BBC and was a huge success.”
“FA Girls’ Football Week which took place in April was another example of the continuing appetite for the game. Close to 40,000 girls aged between 5 and 16 took part – more than double the initial target.
“Despite the harsh winter which clearly had an impact on the volume of football played over that period, we are delighted that over the last 6 months there has been an overall growth in football participation. Boosting participation is one of the central pillars of our four year £260 million strategy with establishing opportunities for flexible forms of the game, delivered it in a manner which best fits a modern lifestyle is recognised as key.”
“The first fruits of this will be in place for the start of the new grassroots season when two pilot grassroots hubs open in Sheffield. These football centres will offer multiple state-of-the-art artificial grass pitches which will tackle head on the issue of poorly maintained provision by cash-strapped local authority, creating more opportunities to play and transforming the way that grassroots football is delivered.”
