The South West of England is the sportiest region in the UK, with over a fifth of adults there participating in sport, according to a new study.
The research, undertaken by online sports listing site www.WherestheMatch.com, has found that 16 per cent of British adults take part in sport, whereas in the South West statistics show over 22 per cent of adults take part in sport and/or recreational activity. The most active over-school age group is unsurprisingly the 18-24 demographic, which accounts for 63 per cent of Brits currently competing in sport on a regular basis.
Fifty-eight per cent of non-participants listed time management as the reason why they don’t play sport on a regular basis, followed by 43 per cent who listed family commitments. Twenty-four per cent stated that they could not commit to being available, 31 per cent answered the multiple answer questions by stating that they did not enjoy sports and/or exercise, while 16 per cent said that lack of motivation was to blame.
The 10 sportiest regions in the UK are as follows:
1. South West (England) 22.4% adult participation
2. South East (England) 21.6% adult participation
3. London (England) 21% adult participation
4. East Midlands (England) 20.7% adult participation
5. North West (England) 20.2% adult participation
6. North East (England) 20% adult participation
7. North East (Scotland) 19.8% adult participation
8. Mid-West (Wales) 19.3% adult participation
9. South (Scotland) 19.1% adult participation
10. Yorkshire and Humber 19% adult participation
Says Wes Lewis, co-founder of Wheresthematch.com: “We had the research carried out as we wanted to see which regions were most interested in sport to give us an indication of where to market our service best. It was clear from our stats that football is still the nation’s favourite sport, both to watch and to play. However, rugby union is not too far behind and is likely to have made the difference as to why the South West is the sportiest region in the UK.”
