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Decline in sports participation
New research, conducted by UK Sport and Sport England, has revealed the number of people participating in sport in England is likely to fall by almost a million by 2026.
'Participation in Sport, Past Trends and Future Prospects' claims that unless positive action is taken to address the situation, in 24 years only 46 per cent of adults will be taking part in at least one physical activity a week.
The research uses population projections for the next 30 years and works on the assumption that participation rates will follow the same trends as they did between 1990 and 1996 for adults and 1994 and 1999 for young people.
Chairman of Sport England, Trevor Brooking, said: 'This is a worrying trend that has major implications for the health of our nation. It is vital that the Government, both central and local, places sport much higher on the nation's agenda.'
The research coincides with recent calls by the British Heart Foundation for the Government to address growing levels of inactivity, which are making Britain a couch potato society.
In response, Richard Caborn, the Minister for Sport said that he believes in 'getting them when they're young' and plans to raise the average time spent on sport by six to 16 year olds to nine hours a week by 2004: 'We are working closely with the Department of Health and the Treasury to produce a National Physical Activity Strategy to stop this trend in its tracks,' he said.
Details: www.sportengland.org