Major study on challenges in amateur sports: Over 10,000 athletes share their insights

Over the past three years, amateur sports have also faced difficult times. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, declining membership, and the energy crisis, clubs across all sports have had to overcome major challenges. That’s why FanQ, the sports voting platform, and SPM Sportplatz Media, with its team organization app SpielerPlus, launched a survey for amateur athletes from all sports to shed light on the current situation. A total of 10,542 people participated.

As part of this large-scale study, FanQ and SPM Sportplatz Media have joined forces to pinpoint the biggest problems and identify potential solutions. How has the importance of amateur sports changed in recent years? What are the biggest challenges facing amateur clubs in Germany, and from which stakeholders do these clubs need special support?

The questions for the athletes were developed in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Axel Faix (Dortmund University of Applied Sciences, Department of Economics) and Prof. Dr. Harald Lange (Institute of Sports Science at the University of Würzburg), both of whom serve on FanQ’s Scientific Advisory Board.

For amateur athletes, so-called active sports are playing an increasingly important role. Nearly half (45.8%) of those surveyed stated that, in their opinion, the importance of amateur sports has increased somewhat (22.9%) or significantly (22.9%) over the past two years; for another 29.1%, it has at least remained the same during this period. In this context, 40.6% of survey respondents even believe that, compared to professional sports, the importance of amateur sports to them has increased somewhat (25.5%) or significantly (15.1%) over the past 24 months.

When asked what their main motivation is for participating in amateur sports, amateur athletes cite not the athletic aspect (75.6%) but the social aspect (86.6%). For slightly more than half of the respondents (52.7%), health also plays an important role.

One aspect of the study that stands out in particular is the focus on volunteer work in amateur sports. For 33.9% of the participants, this is the biggest challenge facing amateur clubs. Financial problems (24.0%) and declining membership (22.9%) follow in second and third place, respectively. At the same time, 38.5% of respondents say that the number of volunteers in their amateur club has declined over the past two years, while only 13.4% report an increase. Furthermore, 72.2% of respondents say that their club needs support from volunteers in the current situation.

In addition, 62.4% of respondents believe that their club is dependent on sponsorship in the current situation. Furthermore, nearly half of the survey participants indicate that assistance from local governments (48.9%) and sports associations (48.1%) is also needed in this context.

Overall, it is clear that amateur clubs are currently facing a wide variety of challenges. However, it would be inaccurate to speak of an existential crisis in amateur sports. This is particularly evident in the fact that more than half (51.3%) view their club’s current situation as positive (41.2%) or even very positive (10.1%), while another 29.0% view the current situation as at least neutral.

Marcel Hager, CEO and founder of SPM Sportplatz Media, summarizes the study’s overall findings as follows: “Despite all the crises, amateur sports have proven to be very resilient in recent years and continue to play a vital role in society. Nevertheless, our study has shown exactly where adjustments need to be made. In particular, volunteer work must be further strengthened to secure the future of active sports.”