DATA DRIVES DECISIONS!

NSGA has the latest participation data available to you with the 2023 edition of the Sports Participation in the US report. Get the information you need on the trends for 56 sports and activities!

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The wave of excitement created by the World Cup this summer and the media coverage accompanied with it represents an opportunity for the industry to convert some of this exposure to participation, particularly through the remainder of this year and next with the Summer Olympics scheduled in 2024.

Next year’s NSGA participation study will shed light on the number of participants who played soccer for the first time during 2023. It will be interesting to see if there is an uptick in first-time participation, some of which could be attributed to the exposure from this year’s World Cup.

In the meantime, in effort to maintain growth, the industry must address the obstacles that hinder participation including (but not limited to) lack of time/ being too busy, lack of interest, cost of participation, access to leagues/ equipment/fields and specialization in other sports.

The exposure the World Cup will provide for soccer offers great opportunity. Making the leap from exposure to sustained participation growth represents the challenge. Minimizing barriers to participation, whether real or perceived, will be the key. It will take an industry-wide effort, but the benefits of sustained participation in soccer will prove fruitful for all involved.