Sixty-one percent of parents say they will not let their children compete in organized youth sports until there is a COVID-19 vaccine available, according to a study conducted last month by Arizona State’s Global Sport Institute in the United States and three other countries.
“I was sort of surprised it wasn’t even higher than that,” said Ken Shropshire, GSI’s CEO and Adidas Distinguished Professor of Global Sport at ASU. “But it will be interesting to see what kinds of things will be introduced that will be acceptable to parents when it comes to allowing their kids back out there.”
Shropshire suggested maybe someone will invent an antimicrobial ball, for example.
If parents remain reluctant to let their kids return to sports quickly, the financial impact to youth sports will be significant. More than $800 million has been spent over the past four years developing U.S. sports facilities designed specifically to host youth sports tournaments, according to Sports Business Journal research.
The GSI survey also touched on a number of fan psychographics. For example, 51% of respondents age 18-34 said that the lack of sports has increased their stress level and one-third of males said the void has affected their emotional well-being.
The online survey registered opinions of more than 750 adults in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa, April 18-27, and balanced to each country’s current census data.
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