Friday, November 17, 2017

FOOTBALL STILL NUMBER ONE SPORT IN WA

 

Just hours after the Caltex Socceroos qualified for a fourth successive FIFA World Cup, football claimed victory off the pitch, too, as Australia’s number one team sport.

And the latest data released by the Australian Sports Commission also confirmed that football was the number-one participation team sport in Western Australia.

The independent AusPlay study found that 196,600 people played football across the state between July 2016 and June 2017, representing growth of 19,700 participants since the previous survey.

Football participants amounted to 24,400 more than AFL and 34,300 more than basketball.

Football West Chief Executive Officer James Curtis expected the Socceroos’ qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and the continued growth in profile of the highly successful Westfield Matildas would feed further participation growth.

“For a number of years now football has been the number one team sport in Western Australia and across the country in terms of participation,” Curtis said. “The latest AusPlay data confirms the game as the sport of choice for so many women, men, girls and boys.

“In recent years, the success of the Matildas and the Socceroos has helped draw new participants to the game. There is no doubt that Australia’s rise towards the very pinnacle of the sport for both women and men is inspiring more and more kids to put a ball at their feet and have a go at the game.

“With the efforts of over 230 clubs and thousands of volunteers, we continue to support everyone’s football journey. Some players will go on to play for Australia at future Olympic Games tournaments and World Cup competitions and others will find their place at local level, in a Football West competition or in their local community.

“There is no game quite like football for engaging players of all standards, capabilities and abilities, and, as we know, it’s also the most multi-cultural of sports with many new immigrants to Australia already fans of the game.”

Nationally the Australian Sports Commission estimated more than 1.1 million people played football, significantly greater than the next most played team sport, AFL, with 674,000 participants.

AusPlay is the most comprehensive sport participation survey ever conducted in Australia. For more information,please click here.