This Is the Biggest Threat to the Future of Football | Footwear News: Each year, the Silver Spring, Md.-based organization analyzes team sports participation in America, for 13 major sports including football, basketball, baseball, cheerleading and tennis. In�its most recent data set, for 2015 (SFIA is in the midst of finalizing its 2016 numbers), it recorded an across-the-board increase in team sports participation among young people. That’s the good news.
“The bad news is that the core participation numbers for people who play between 13 and 25 times per year has gone down over a five-year period in some significant way,” Tom Cove, president & CEO of SFIA, told FN. “Of those 13 major sports, only three increased [in core participation]: ice hockey, lacrosse and rugby.”
Why is this decline important�to the sports industry? First, core participants�matter to manufacturers as consumers. Casual players won’t spend much on shoes and gear, but regular players will. “Their families are willing to invest a substantial amount in product and in the commitment to the sport: travel, training, lessons, everything,” said Cove.
“The bad news is that the core participation numbers for people who play between 13 and 25 times per year has gone down over a five-year period in some significant way,” Tom Cove, president & CEO of SFIA, told FN. “Of those 13 major sports, only three increased [in core participation]: ice hockey, lacrosse and rugby.”
Why is this decline important�to the sports industry? First, core participants�matter to manufacturers as consumers. Casual players won’t spend much on shoes and gear, but regular players will. “Their families are willing to invest a substantial amount in product and in the commitment to the sport: travel, training, lessons, everything,” said Cove.