Australia’s peak age for girls dropping out of sport is 15-years-old, according to new research from Visa and Year 13, with the decision stemming from factors including a perceived lack of role models, body confidence and a conflict with time for study.
Nearly half (48 per cent) of the girls said they stopped playing sport to have more time to study, compared with 30 per cent of boys.
Almost a third (31 per cent) of young girls said they dropped out of sport due to bodily insecurity. And only a quarter of young girls believe playing sports helps with skills for work, despite saying it can help with teamwork (91 per cent), resilience (77 per cent), collaboration (73 per cent), discipline (71 per cent) and leadership (70 per cent).
Ahead of the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup (FWWC), the research also revealed that 60 per cent of Australian girls don’t have a female sports star they look up to.
And almost two thirds (62 per cent) of Australian girls say their family rarely or never watches women’s sport, with nearly 70 per cent having no parents who play sport either.
These are significant stats considering that parents were the second most influential group – behind ‘friends’– on the decision for girls to play sport.
In an attempt to tackle these research findings, a new platform, Year 13 & Visa PlayOn, will highlight the benefits of playing sport to young girls. The initiative stems from a partnership of Year 13 and Visa, who is also a partner of the FWWC.
“There is a huge opportunity to reframe the way we talk to young girls about sport, as something that can actually help not just with study, but with relationships, mental health and all sorts of life and professional soft skills,” said Year13 co-founder and co-ceo Saxon Phipps.
“Through this initiative, we’re encouraging parents and schools to speak with their children and students about staying in sport in their final years of school and beyond, instead of giving it up when most do by 15.”
Along with highlighting the benefits of sport, the platform will make role models like Matildas’ and Team Visa Star Ellie Carpenter more accessible to Aussie girls.
Speaking to the positive impacts of having played football in Australia, Carpenter says: “As a young girl, juggling everything in my life with my passion for sport was sometimes challenging but not only has sport given me a career, it has also given me so much more– from confidence and resilience to lifelong friends.”
“I’m proud to be a Team Visa athlete and hope I can play a role in encouraging girls to stay in sport.”
The Year 13 & Visa Playon platform will showcase content and advice from role models with careers in different industries as well. These women will share the ways that playing sport impacted their lives and why they feel it’s important.
Visa’s Head of Marketing for Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific Natalie Lockwood said that through the Visa Team, they’re “focused on championing women in sport” and “look forward to supporting the next generation”.
“We know that playing sports builds transferable skills that can set girls up for success, including in business, with a study showing 94 per cent of female CEOs have played a sport. The story behind the numbers is that we need to ensure our girls understand these links and have access to positive role models that encourage them to stick with sport,” said Lockwood.
“The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will help ignite this excitement around women’s sport, and our goal is to be part of a long term solution that endures long after the tournament has concluded.”