Sport’s heavyweight contribution to the economy

Growth in the sport sector has outstripped the English economy as a whole over the past two decades, new research has revealed.

The sport economy’s annual contribution has reached £16.668 billion - increasing 140% in real terms between 1985 and 2008.

The research was commissioned by Sport England and carried out by the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University. Other key findings of the report, The Economic Value of Sport in England, include:

• Consumer spend on sport in England was £17.384 billion in 2008
• The number of people with sport-related jobs has reached 441,000 – that’s 1.8% of all employment in England
• Over three-quarters of these jobs are in the private sector.

“These figures underline the huge value of sport to our country, and the significant role it can play in supporting the economic recovery,” said Sport England’s Chair, Richard Lewis. “The growing number of people playing sport is driving up the sector’s economic value, as well as fostering skills, such as leadership and teamwork, that will help the nation’s businesses to emerge strongly from the current financial climate.”

“In these tough economic times sport has shown its worth,” said Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson. “Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games is helping to deliver growth for the sector and we want to capitalise on that further in the run up to 2012 and beyond. This report is proof that sport is a serious industry and not just a pastime - with job opportunities on the rise in the private sector, despite the recession.”