New research finds fewer than a third of girls (29%) dream of reaching the top of sport compared to half of boys (52%). Over the last three years the charity Women in Sport has tracked how the increased visibility of elite women’s sport has inspired girls. Despite inspirational performances from football’s Lionesses and netball’s Vitality Roses this summer, the latest data shows the number of girls who aspire to play elite level sport has declined (by 2%) compared to the same time a year ago.
However, Women in Sport’s report, ‘Daring to Dream – The Gender Dream Deficit in Sport’, did find the success of women’s sport on the world stage has helped to release the hopes of a generation of girls who love sport and take part already with 86 per cent of girls in this category believing they can be like a Lionesses. However, this group is the smallest of all categories, representing just 19 per cent of all girls.