Children’s sporting activities cost parents £443 on average a year, survey finds

Parents are spending an average of £443 a year to fund their children’s sporting activities, a survey suggests.

Parents with children who participate in organised sport say their offspring try an average of three sports a year, with football – played by 62% of children – the most popular, followed by swimming (42%), and dance (20%), the poll for payment provider Clearpay found.

Hockey is the most expensive sport, with parents spending an average £460 a year for their child to participate.

Dance (£395) and basketball (£372) are the next most expensive sports, followed by tennis (£359) and gymnastics (£350).

On average, the biggest outgoings are on lessons and coaching (£81), specialist kit (£67) and footwear, including football boots and trainers (£66).

Budgets also stretch to travel (£62), club memberships (£59) and equipment (£43).

Despite the cost, almost two-thirds of parents (65%) say they place no financial limit on how much they will spend to support their child’s sport.

However the cost-of-living crisis has also had an impact, with more than half of parents (53%) saying it has limited the number of sports their child can try.

More than one in five parents (21%) also admit they regret how much they have spent on sporting activities their children have since given up.

The poll also found major events such as Wimbledon have motivated nearly a quarter of children (24%) to try a new sport, with 37% of parents reporting that watching the British tennis tournament inspired their children to pick up a racquet for the first time.

Rich Bayer, UK country manager at Clearpay, said: “Parents are committed to giving their children access to different sports, which inevitably comes with a price tag.

“Ultimately, this investment will hopefully create a generation of people with a lifelong love of sport and active lifestyles.”

Opinium surveyed 2,000 parents with children aged between five and 17 between June 13 and 20.