Fattani Faisal highlights the social and economic benefits of grassroot sports and shares eight trends that are changing the outlook on grassroot sports.
Frequently underserved compared to professional and purely commercial segments in sport, grassroot communities play a foundational role across society, wellbeing, and the very economics of the broader sport ecosystem; yet, investment decisions around community sports are often met with skepticism on commercial viability, reach, and lack of measurable outcomes.
Defining grassroot sports
The theme of grassroot sports plays a role across a wide range of dimensions throughout our socioeconomic systems, the Collective has defined a framework to capture these dimensions and to distinctly outline where grassroot communities stand out as a standalone segment in sports
Emerging trends across mature geographies
Consolidated out of our client work, inputs from community partners, and own expertise in industry, outlined are 8 trends that are shaping the status quo of grassroot sports across mature geographies:
Sport spaces setup as platforms for reduced inequalities
With physical activity actively contributing to 6 SDGs, sports across its segments present a unique avenue for change and social cohesion; this is reflected in professional sports as global platforms leverage their reach to amplify awareness on equity (i.e, think the Champions League’s classic RESPECT patch amongst others) and purpose, as well as recreational segments across developed geographies, increasingly setup as platforms for awareness and discourse on topics of civil importance, from local politics to environmental sustainability; Besides platforms that actively promote equity, sport’s team-based environments of play continue to build inclusive micro-cultures across generations and geographies.
Partnerships and consortiums are launching safeguarding initiatives for kids
Federations, national Olympic committees, academic institutes, NGOs and intergovernmental entities are partnering to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of underage participants in sports, safeguarding sport spaces from risks, violence, and other forms of harm; these initiatives set guidance for proactive prevention of abuse and safeguarding through production and distribution of resources, facilitating discourse and stakeholder engagements around the topic, and actively promoting respect and inclusivity across spaces. Beyond the context of K-12 education, these initiatives extend to public and private organized sports and rec-leagues as well.
Digital platforms are redefining how communities form around sports
The global running community is one that has significantly been transformed through digital platforms over recent years, Strava, and other platforms with social tracking features have redefined what it means to be within a running community; This exemplifies a much broader trend across other sports, as communities are increasingly forming around digital performance tracking and score-keeping. Digital transformation is also fundamentally reshaping the fan experience during live sporting events, as associations and clubs integrate unified digital experiences with social features around stadiums and venues.
Key points include:
- Integration with urban planning
- Strengthening local talent pathways
- Legislating anti-abuse in semi-pro sport environments
Read the article, The $100Bn Case for Grassroot Sports, on SICollective.co.