Sport Worth £15bn Says Sport England

A new research study commissioned by government funding body Sport England has revealed that sport is worth over £15bn to the nation’s economy – a growth of nearly 50% in five years.

The study showed that sport-related economic activity in England reached a record high of £15.47 billion in 2005. The figure includes everything from sales of sports clothing and equipment to jobs in the sports industry.

According to the report, the growth in England’s sport economy has outstripped that of the economy as a whole, as well as comparable sectors such as gambling.

The report also showed that consumer expenditure on sport in England increased from £11.81bn in 2000 to £16.58bn in 2005, an increase of 40%.

The highest category of consumer spending is ‘participation subscription and fees’ at £3.5bn in 2005 – more than sports-clothing and gambling categories.

Spending on sports-related equipment increased from £0.7bn in 2000 to £1.2 bn in 2005, an increase of 67%.

The study revealed that sport-related employment in England stood at 434,000 jobs in 2005, an increase of 68,500 jobs (19%) since 2000.

The majority of sport-related jobs (76%) are in the commercial sector, with 12% in the voluntary sector and 12% in the public sector. Public and voluntary sector sport-related jobs increased from 63,000 in 1985 to 103,000 in 2005.

The research was carried out by the Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) at Sheffield Hallam University on behalf of Sport England.