Sport participation in the European Union Trends and differences Commissioned by Nike Europe Operations Netherlands BV Maarten van Bottenburg Bas Rijnen Jacco van Sterkenburg © W.J.H. Mulier Instituut ’s-Hertogenbosch, april 2005 y ociet s in s t or p or research on s or research on f e r t cen - institute r h mulie j w © Van Bottenburg, Rijnen and Van Sterkenburg 2005 Translated from the Dutch by Jo Swabe W.J.H. Mulier Instituut Centrum voor sociaal-wetenschappelijk sportonderzoek Postbus 188 5201 AD ’s-Hertogenbosch t 073-6126401 f 073-6126413 e [email protected] i www.mulierinstituut.nl 2 Sport participation in the European Union - Trends and differences Inhoudsopgave Acknowledgements 5 1. Introduction 9 1.1 Sport and the European Union 9 1.2 Challenges for the promotion of sport 11 1.3 Research questions and aims 13 1.4 Defining sport 14 1.5 Research methods 16 1.6 Structure of the book 20 2. Sport in the European Union: levels, trends and differentiation 21 2.1 Overall levels and general trends 21 2.2 Sport-specific differences and trends 30 2.3 Organisational context 33 2.4 Social differentiation 37 2.5 Conclusions 43 3. Sport participation in each EU member state 45 3.1 Finland 47 3.2 Sweden 52 3.3 Denmark 57 3.4 Republic of Ireland 64 3.5 United Kingdom 68 3.6 The Netherlands 76 3.7 Belgium 82 3.8 Luxembourg 90 3.9 France 93 3.10 Germany 98 3.11 Austria 106 3.12 Portugal 112 3.13 Spain 118 3.14 Italy 124 3.15 Greece 128 3.16 Cyprus 131 3.17 Malta 133 3.18 Slovenia 136 3.19 Hungary 141 3 3.20 Slovakia 145 3.21 The Czech Republic 148 3.22 Poland 153 3.23 Lithuania 156 y 3.24 Latvia 159 3.25 Estonia 161 ociet s in s t or p 4. Key drivers of sport participation 163 4.1 Personal factors 164 4.2 Interpersonal factors 166 4.3 Environmental factors 167 4.4 Societal factors 168 or research on s or research on f e r t cen 5. Conclusions and recommendations 173 - 5.1 Level and trends in sport participation 173 5.2 Patterns and differences in sport participation 174 institute r 5.3 Key drivers and policy interventions 177 5.4 Research gaps 181 h mulie j w Bibliography 183 About the authors 201 About the W.J.H. Mulier Institute 203 4 Sport participation in the European Union - Trends and differences Acknowledgements This research report is the result of the efforts of many people across Europe. The work could not have been accomplished without the advice, support, references, and supply of data and information received from a network of experts in all 25 EU member states. We express our special thanks to the following people: • Mr. Kostantinos Agriodimos, Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Greece • Dr. Konstantinos Alexandris, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece • Mrs. Meta Arh, GfK, Gral-Ite, Slovenia • Mr. Jerry Bingham, UK Sport, UK • Dr. Ann Bourke, University College Dublin, Ireland • Dr. Koen Breedveld, the Netherlands • Mrs. Zsuzsanna Bukta, Ministry of Children, Youth and Sports, Hungary • Mrs. Alenka Burica, Media Publikum, Slovenia • Prof. dr. Jean Camy, University of Lyon ‘Claude Bernard’, France • Dr. Sasa Cecic Erpic, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia • Mr. Petr Chvojka, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Czech Republic • Mr. Vladimir Cicmanec, Slovakian Statistical Office, Slovakia • Mr. David Cisar, Nike Czech/Slovakia • Dr. Leo Clijssen, EOSE European observatoire of sport employment, France • Mrs. Veerle De Bosscher, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium • Mr. Andrew Decelis, University of Malta, Institute for Physical Education & Sport, Malta • Mr. Fabrice Ducceschi, Nike, Spain • Mrs. Beth Fowler, Sport England, UK • Prof. dr. Manuel García Ferrando, University of Valencia, Spain • Mrs. Rose Ann Gatt, University of Malta, Institute for Physical Education & Sport, Malta • Prof. dr. Chris Gratton, Sheffield Hallam University, UK • Mrs. Louise Hammerton, Sport England, UK • Mag. Beatrix Haslinger, Institut für Freizeit- und Tourismusforschung, Austria • Mrs. Terhi Heinilä, Finnish Sports Federation, Finland • Prof. dr. Lech Jaczynowski, Jozef Pilsudski Academy of Physical Education, Poland • Mr. Petr Janousek, Nike, Czech/Slovakia. • Mr. Tilbert La Haye, Spain • Mrs. Estelle Liverneaux, Ministère des Sports/Mission Statistique, France • Dr. Nicos Kartakoullis, Center for Leisure, Tourism and Sports Research and Development, Cyprus • Mr. Ziga Kmetic, Nike, Slovenia • Dr. Pasi Koski, University of Turku, Finland • Mr. Pawel Kotnowski, GfK, Poland • Mr. Nelli Kovisto, Finland • Mr. Witold Kowalski, Nike, Poland • Mr. Jean Krantz, Département Ministériel des Sports, Luxembourg • Mr. Knud Larsen, Research Institute for Sport, Culture and Civil Society, Denmark • Mr. Peeter Lusmägi, Estonian Olympic Committee, Estonia 5 • Prof. dr. Salomé Marivoet, University of Coimbra, Portugal • Mrs. Renáta Mašánová, Tambor, Slovakia • Dr. Gert Mensink, Robert Koch Institute, Germany • Mr. Patrick Mignon, l’Institut National du Sport et de l’Éducation Physique, France y • Mr. Paulino Moraleda, Nike, Spain • Prof. dr. Antonio Mussino, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Italy ociet s • Mrs. Agnes Nagy, Nike, Hungary in s t • Mr. Göran Nordström, Statistics Sweden, Sweden or p • Dr. Pekka Oja, Finland • Dr. Laila Ottesen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark • Mr. Rimantas Pacenka, Lithuanian academy of Physical Education, Lithuania • Dr. Dimitra Papadimitrou, University of Patras, Greece • Dr. Karen Petry, German Sport University Cologne, Germany or research on s or research on f e r • Dr. Jan Prerovský, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Czech Republic t • Prof. dr. Núria Puig Barata, INEF - Institut Nacional d'Educacio de Catalunya, Spain cen - • Mrs. Kamieke van de Riet, GfK, the Netherlands • Mr. Bruno Rossi Mori, CONI, Italy • Mr. Nick Rowe, Sport England, UK institute r • Prof. dr. Antonin Rychtecký, Charles University of Prague, Czech Republic • Mrs. Karin Schank, Département Ministériel des Sports, Luxembourg h mulie j • Dr. Jeroen Scheerder, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven/Ministry of Flemish Government, w Belgium • Dr. Boris Silva, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia • Mrs. Inga Smalinkskaite, Department of physical education and sports, Lithuania • Mr. Ola Stadler, Swedish Sports Confederation, Sweden • Dr. Dirk Steinbach, German Sport University Cologne, Germany • Mr. Branislav Strecansky, National Sport Center, Czech Republic • Dr. Evelyn Ternes, German Sport University Cologne, Germany • Mr. Ján Tokár, Ministry of Education, Slovakia • Mr. Luc Vandeputte, Université Libre de Bruxelles/Brussels European Sport Management Centre, Belgium • Mrs. Anit Van Eynde, Nike, Belgium • Prof. dr. Otmar Weiss, University of Vienna, Austria • Mr. Peter Willems, GfK, the Netherlands • Prof. Mag. Peter Zellmann, Institut für Freizeit- und Tourismusforschung, Austria • Dr. Jolanta Zysko, Academy of Physical Education, Poland Neither could this study be done without the support of Nike Government Affairs – EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Nike Europe Operations Netherlands BV. We especially thank Jim Allaker, John van den Berg, Maria Bobenrieth, Thomas Duester, Colin Graham, Hannah Jones, Duncan Mills, Anna Maria Rugarli, Stefanie Teichman, and above all Rory Macmillan and Minna-Marie Rosti. 6 Sport participation in the European Union - Trends and differences 7 wjh mulier institute - centre for research on sports in society 8 Sport participation in the European Union - Trends and differences 1. Introduction 1.1 Sport and the European Union Sport is an important part of the European legacy. The origins of sport and the Olympic movement lie in Europe. Large proportions of European citizens participate in sport or are physically active. One of the distinctive characteristics of European sport is the fact that it is largely embedded within a network of sport clubs and federations, which organise competitions at all levels and are linked to one another through systems of promotion and relegation. Europe is, moreover, as the European Commission puts it, ‘the powerhouse of world sport’.1 It has been the host of more than half of all of the Olympic Games and World Cup Football Championships. European nations also dominate elite sports. At the end of the Athens Olympics, nine member states of the European Union found themselves in the top 20 of Olympic medal winners. Collectively they won some 286 medals, which is indeed more medals than all those of China, Russia and the United States combined. In the past, the European Union has not involved itself with this sport movement to any great degree. The world of sport has always been seen as an autonomous field in which the EU should, in principle, not exert its direct influence. Sports organisations have had the authority to manage their own affairs within the confines of national legislation and European treaties. Furthermore, no legal basis for the direct intervention of the EU in the area of sport has ever been established.2 However, the increasing commercialisation and professionalisation of sport throughout the past decades has led to greater EU involvement in its development.3 Since sport has developed as an economic activity, it has been subject to the rules of the European Union Treaty, just like any other economic sector. The Bosman ruling is the most well-known example of this influence. In addition, the sport sector has fallen within the realm of EU general regulations with regard to, for instance, the issues of broadcasting rights, access to sporting events on television and a common anti-doping policy.4 When applying such rules, the EU has declared that the specific nature of sport will be taken into account, but sports organisations have no longer been afforded the exceptional status that they have demanded and had been given in this area up until this point. This development raised considerable concerns. On the one hand, sports organisations feared that the expansion of EU involvement and authority in the field of sport might threaten 1 European Commission 1998a. Virtually every branch of sport has a European sport federation and European championship.