sports surfaces
A landmark report by the Football Association reveals the huge social and economic benefits of adult grassroots football in England for the first time.
Valuing the grassroots game
AS the not-for-profit governing body of football in England, the Football Association (The FA) is responsible for promoting and developing every level of the game, from grassroots through to the professional game, and generates revenue to support the investment of more than £180m into English football each year. The FA invests approximately £1m in grassroots football every week. Now for the first time in its history, the organisation has measured the social and economic impact of the adult grassroots game. A new report provides The FA’s first estimate of the value of football in monetary terms, which offers compelling evidence of the economic impact and value of adult grassroots football in England. There are more than 12 million people who
play football in England – with over eight million adults (18+) playing the game. The FA canvassed approximately 9,000 participants to provide a nationally-representative sample that allows for robust statistical analysis in what is hailed as the largest study of its type for a national governing body in the UK.
economic impact The FA’s report shows the contribution of adult grassroots football to the nation’s economy as well as the wellbeing of society.
It finds that regular grassroots football
(playing in the past month) contributes £11bn to England each year. This figure is based on the value of regular football against a reference group of the rest of population, including those who play other sports and those who play no sports. The report notes that in many ways the
figure may be an underestimate as the analysis accounts only for those who play regular football and does not estimate the value provided to those who play less regularly.
The overall contribution of £11bn includes
£2bn in direct expenditure (the money that regular footballers spend annually on match fees, kit, and socialising, among other things). The average annual personal spend of regular grassroots footballers on football is £326 per person per year. Tax will be collected on much of this expenditure, and it’s estimated that £410m is contributed to the UK Exchequer through tax every year as a result of football.
wellbeing impact The report shows the significant impact that playing football, in all its forms, has on the quality of life of those playing the game. Playing grassroots football is associated with positive quality of life benefits to all layers of society, and in some cases these benefits are higher for those from socially disadvantaged groups. Those who play football at least once a
month in the past 12 months report significantly higher levels of happiness, general health, confidence and trust compared with those don’t play football but do take part in other sports. Playing regular football has a positive association with an individual’s general health, compared to those who do not play any other sport.
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