Study: Soccer most popular sport among Canadian kids post-pandemic

Canadian kids are back playing their favourite sports at rates higher than pre-pandemic participation levels.

Soccer is the most popular sport for young Canadians to play, according to a recent study, but across all organized physical activities participation is up. Kaan Yigit, the study director on the 2023 Canadian Youth Sports Report, said that the 67 per cent of children that are getting active is likely in response to years of stringent COVID-19 measures.

"What I saw in these numbers is what appears to be a healthy bounce back and almost like a new dynamism," said Yigit, who said his organization did a similar study in 2014 that had participation numbers in Canada closer to 60 per cent. "So when I saw that we're at 67 per cent, that's a really great bounce back despite the costs and everything else.

"I think part of it comes from parents seeing their kids sit at home and be stuck to their electronic devices day after day after day."

The data comes from 2,996 detailed interviews conducted in English and French with parents who had at least one child in the 3-17 age group in the home in January 2023. It is an independent syndicated study published by Solutions Research Group in late June.

Researchers found that 16 per cent of all Canadian youth between the ages of three and 17 participate in organized soccer, or approximately one million of the 6.1 million children in the country.

Swimming was the second most popular organized athletic activity, followed by hockey.

The study found that a big factor for youth participation in sports was how much it would cost the family, especially as inflation continues to impact the cost of living.

"It's not going to be surprising to anybody that soccer is a third as expensive at the organized level (compared to hockey)," said Yigit. "Of course, it's an average, because there's families that might spend $15-20,000 on a kid for hockey and similarly, $10,000 on soccer, but when you average it out across the board, soccer is more affordable."

The study revealed that the average annual expenditure related to youth sports is $1,820 per child, with 44 per cent of that money going to lesson fees or team dues.

Families with active teens reported total spending on organized and casual sports and activities to be over $2,500 per year per child, about twice the amount spent on average for children in the 3-7 age bracket ($1,227). Average spending on youth sports is about twice the average for families with children in equestrian, hockey or skiing (ranging from $3,600 to $4,350) while martial arts and soccer are among the most affordable annually (just over $1,400 per child per year).

Although Canadian Tire's Jumpstart program and Tim Hortons Timbits program were singled out by many parents as helpful sponsors, most sports in Canada are actually supported by small local businesses like local restaurants, medical professionals, or realtors.

"If we want this momentum to continue we definitely need to help families, especially those with multiple children, those who may be new to Canada, those who may be falling through the cracks economically," said Yigit. "They're trying their best and they may be shifting budgets from one area to the other to keep the kids in swimming or basketball or soccer or whatever else."

When it comes to viewing habits, 57 per cent of Canadian youth surveyed followed at least one professional sports league, with the NHL and NBA being the most popular. NHL fans account for 27 per cent of Canadian youth and 16 per cent follow the NBA, followed by NFL (12%) and MLB (11%). New Canadian youth are less likely to follow the NHL (8%), but the NBA is highly appealing to them (27%). 

The NHL is the most popular league among parents, followed by the NFL and NBA.

Major events like the Olympics or FIFA World Cup appeal to 20-24 per cent of youth and 31-37 per cent of parents. Additionally, 59 per cent of parents say they watch women’s sporting events at least sometimes, with 13 per cent saying frequently or always.