Research and analysis

Sport Satellite Account for the UK 2024: Research into a new measure for estimating the value of sport

Published 1 October 2024

Executive summary

The UK has a long and rich history of sport impact studies and the development of sport satellite accounts, dating back to the mid-1980s. The UK government has been proactive in measuring the economic impact of sport and has consistently produced annual Sport Satellite Accounts based on the Vilnius definition of sport. This approach has facilitated comparisons between the UK sport economy and other European economies, allowing for reliable conclusions about the growth of the sector.

The current research, using 2021 data, provides an update to previous studies by continuously monitoring the sport economy and assessing the extent of its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the first report that follows the new version of the Vilnius definition (3.0). The latter introduced the distinction between characteristic and connected sport products:

“Characteristic products in sport refer to activities where active participation in sport takes place. These are sporting services, sport-related education and in some countries sport-related military and police activities. All the remaining products, which are not characteristic, are connected products. Data on characteristic products are the minimum for reporting the results of a Satellite Account”.

The current report highlights both the traditional direct impact of sport on gross value added (GVA) and employment, as well as the indirect impact generated through the broader supply network, much of which lies outside the sport economy. For the first time, this report undertakes a detailed construction of sport multipliers, providing a more comprehensive analysis of the sector’s wider economic impacts.

Table E1 below outlines the gross value added (GVA) generated by sport in the UK for 2021. Sport contributed a direct impact of £53.6 bn, accounting for 2.6% of the UK’s total GVA. For the first time, both the indirect impact and associated multipliers were estimated, with the indirect impact amounting to £29.5 bn, representing 1.4% of the UK economy. The combined impact, totalling £83.1 bn, reflects both the direct and supply chain effects and is equivalent to 4.1% of the UK’s GVA. Characteristic goods make up 34% of the total direct GVA impact in the UK. The overall multiplier for the sport industry stands at 1.55, with 1.36 for characteristic goods and 1.65 for connected goods. This higher multiplier for connected goods is explained by their lower labour intensity, which requires drawing more resources from the supply chain, thereby boosting the multiplier. In practical terms, this means that for every £1 invested in sport, £1.55 is generated as GVA in the economy.

Table E1: Sport-related GVA, 2021, £m

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	£m	share	£m	share	£m	share
Characteristic	18,258	0.89 %	6,512	0.32%	24,770	1.21%	1.36
Connected	35,337	1.74%	23,011	1.12%	58,347	2.86%	1.65
TOTAL	53,595	2.63%	29,522	1.44%	83,117	4.07%	1.55

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

As expected from previous research on the UK sport economy, the results became more significant when considering the effects on employment. Table E2 shows both the direct and indirect effects on full time equivalents (FTEs).

Table E2: Sport-related employment, 2021, full-time-equivalents

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	FTEs	share	FTEs	share	FTEs	share
Characteristic	354,152	1.40%	96,482	0.38%	450,634	1.78%	1.27
Connected	523,960	2.06%	313,387	1.24%	837,347	3.30%	1.60
TOTAL	878,112	3.46%	409,869	1.62%	1,287,981	5.08%	1.47

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

According to the table above, sport directly contributes 878.1 thousand full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs, representing 3.5% of total employment in the economy. When the indirect contributions are factored in, the overall impact of sport on FTEs rises to 5.1%, equating to 1.29 million jobs. Characteristic products account for 40% of the direct employment generated by sport.

In all categories examined (direct, indirect, and total), the impact of sport on employment is greater than its impact on GVA. This confirms that the sport sector has the potential to generate more jobs than other sectors of the UK economy, on average. In other words, if demand is sufficient, increasing investment in sport will result in higher employment growth compared to the average economic sector. This holds true even for connected goods, which are significantly less employment-intensive than the characteristic sports sector.

When interpreting these results and considering the increasing significance of the UK sport sector, it’s important to recognise a key caveat. The year under review coincided with the delayed European Football Championship (Euro 2020), which likely inflated the value of sport beyond its typical trend. To assess the long-term trajectory of the UK sport sector—including in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland—follow-up studies will be necessary once the effects of such major events are fully accounted for.

The MNIOT distributed the GVA effect among the four nations of the UK, as the following Table illustrates:

Table E3: Sport-related gross value added by nations, 2021, £bn

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	£ bn	share	£ bn	share	£ bn	share
England	46.7	87.1%	25.9	87.6%	72.6	87.3%	1.55
Scotland	3.8	7.0%	1.9	6.4%	5.7	6.8%	1.50
Wales	1.9	3.6%	1.0	3.5%	2.9	3.6%	1.53
Northern Ireland	1.2	2.3%	0.7	2.5%	1.9	2.4%	1.58
TOTAL (UK)	53.6	100%	29.5	100%	83.1	100%	1.55

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

There are minor variations in the national distribution when comparing the direct and indirect effects. However, the dominant factor remains the size of the national economies. England accounts for 87% of sport-related GVA (both direct and indirect), followed by Scotland at 6.8%, Wales at 3.6%, and Northern Ireland at 2.4%. Table

E4 illustrates a similar breakdown of the impact of national sport economies on employment.

Table E4: Sport-related employment by nations, 2021, FTE

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	FTE	share	FTE	Share	FTE	share
England	749,002	85.3%	342,987	83.7%	1,091.989	84.8	1.46
Scotland	69,380	7.9%	34,227	8.4%	103,607	8.0	1.49
Wales	38,345	4.4%	20,652	5.0%	58,997	4.6	1.54
Northern Ireland	21,384	2.4%	12,003	2.9%	33,387	2.6	1.56
TOTAL (UK)	878,111	100%	409,869	100%	1,287,980	100%	1.47

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The only noticeable difference compared to the GVA pattern is a slight shift in employment distribution away from England and towards the other Home Nations when examining employment relative to GVA. As shown in the table above, sport employment in England accounts for 84.8% of the UK total, followed by Scotland at 8%, Wales at 4.6%, and Northern Ireland at 2.6%. This shift is expected and aligns with the understanding that sport can be a political tool not only for boosting employment but also for reducing inequalities among nations. Due to factors such as productivity and labour intensity, nations with lower per capita output are likely to experience greater employment benefits from sport investment.

The current report has shown the economic importance of sport in the UK and has placed it in the international context. The UK sport economy is in terms of direct effect of GVA the third largest in Europe (EU), behind the sport economies of Austria and Germany. Under the new methodology for sport impact (Vilnius 3.0) the economic impact of sport (direct GVA) has reached 2.6% an increase of almost 0.5 percentage points from the traditional levels that were recorded almost ten years ago. Although it is possible that the increase may be attributable to the reviewing methodology, the fact is that it has been driven by the characteristic element of the definition which over less than a decade it has increased by 85% (nominal prices). Figure E1 below, places the UK within the European context.

Figure E1: Ranking table of sport economies in Europe according to sport GVA %.

Cyprus	1.85%
France	1.91%
EU	2.12%
Poland	2.30%
UK	2.63%
Germany	3.90%
Austria	4.12%

Source: Sheffield Hallam University and Pan European SSA (published in 2018)

Table E5 below ranks the top three sport-related economic sectors in the UK by employment size and compares them with the corresponding sectors in the EU.

Table E5, Direct employment contributions of 3 top sport related sports

Rank	CPA	Goods and Services	UK size of employment	EU Share of total employment.
1	R93_1	Sport services	387,685 (1.20%)	0.36%
2	P	Education services	196,119 (0.61%)	0.53%
3	G47	Retail trade services, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles	139,203 (0.43%)	0.28%

Source: Sheffield Hallam University and Pan European SSA (published in 2018)

The significance of Table E5 lies in the fact that it accounts for more than half of the direct impact of the sport industry, both in the UK and the EU. The primary difference is that in the UK, the most important sector is sport services, whereas in the EU, sport-related education services hold the top spot in terms of direct impact. This difference highlights the substantial economic role of sports clubs in the UK, as well as the size of the sport volunteering sector. Additionally, sport services in the UK represent 1.2% of total UK employment, compared to just 0.36% in the EU. This underscores the importance of sport participation, sports clubs, and services as the key drivers of the sport economy in the UK.

1. Introduction

The Sport Industry Research Group (SIRG) of Sheffield Hallam University, together with SpEA and Econmove welcome the opportunity to present the report of the research into the economic value of sport in the UK, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, measured mainly as economic impact on Gross Value Added (GVA) and employment^{[footnote 1]}. To our understanding, this report also marks the first ever endeavour in the UK to regionalise the UK Input Output Table (IOT), which adds significant value to this project.

The report considers the methodology used to derive a Sport Satellite Account (SSA), the data sources that inform different aspects of the model, presents the results of the SSAs in the UK, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and extends the model in terms of distributing the Gross Value Added (GVA) among Local Authorities and individual sports. This report is presented together with a feasibility report which contains a very detailed description of the construction of the Multi-National Input Output Table, serving as our basis for the estimation of the regional impact.

Further, the report is based on the latest revised Vilnius definition (under development at the time of writing), and the revised pan-European methodology agreed in the EU with the active and leading participation of SIRG, as well as the leading team of this research.

The current research can be very effective in informing policy decisions as outlined by DCMS’s policy paper: ‘Getting active: a strategy for the future of sport and physical activity^{[footnote 2]}(2023). The DCMS report recognises that ‘recent years have seen unprecedented challenges for sport and our ability to be active. The pandemic and ongoing financial challenges around the cost of living have had a huge effect on all of us, including on the sport and physical activity sector and its workforce’. The current report through its economic evaluation can show areas where sport can be useful in assisting policy and informing public funding decisions.

In addition to national SSAs, there have been two Pan-European Accounts for the EU, which included the UK^{[footnote 3]}. The most recent one, published in 2018 using 2012 data, revealed that the UK’s sport industry contributed 2.2% to the national GDP and 3.8% to employment (direct effects). The observation that the percentage of employment generated exceeded that associated with GDP or GVA suggested that sport is an efficient generator of employment. This point implies that a given investment in sport, if demand exists, would yield more employment than an average sector of the economy. It was concluded that sport can serve as a policy tool to boost employment, particularly during periods of economic crisis and recession. The existence of a system of accounts in the UK facilitated a rapid response in evaluating the effects of Covid-19 on both national economies and specific sports, such as golf, and was used to influence policy decisions.

2. Understanding the sport sector, general statistics and analysis

The starting point of understanding the economic impact of sport is the actual definition of sport and physical activity (PA), as economic activity. Although this definition will not be attempted here, the extension to its economic dimension means that we not only consider the specific requirements of doing sport (such as buying sport clothing and footwear) but aspects removed from the activity such as sport journalism, sport gambling, video games and e-sports, etc. These aspects are considered in the Vilnius definition of sport examined in the Methodology section.

As an example, consider the following table from the latest Pan-European SSA which has identified across the EU (including the UK at the time) the sectors that drive the sport economy, providing the leading shares in terms of employment.

Table 2.1: Employment contributions of top 10 sport related sectors

Rank	CPA	Goods and Services	Employmentin headcount	Share of total employment
1	P	Education services	1,110,882	0.53%
2	R93_1	Sport services	749,291	0.36%
3	G47	Retail trade services, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles	586,516	0.28%
4	I	Accommodation and food services	585,892	0.28%
5	O	Public administration and defence services; compulsory social security services	503,059	0.24%
6	G46	Wholesale trade services, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles	345,683	0.17%
7	R90-92	Creative, arts, entertainment, library, archive, museum, other cultural services; gambling and betting services	240,952	0.12%
8	F	Construction and construction works	179,414	0.09%
9	Q86	Human health services	143,666	0.07%
10	C13-15	Textiles, wearing apparel, leather and related products	124,104	0.06%

Overall, the strongest sector is “Education services” with more than 1.1 m employees. This is followed by “Sport services” with around 749,000 employees and the retail services sector with more than 586,000 employees. Both sport services and retail are sectors which generate relatively high employment for a given value of GDP. Sport tourism is largely responsible for the size of the Accommodation and food services sector, generating 586,000 jobs across the EU. These first three sectors provide employment for nearly 2.45m people or 1.17% of total employment across the EU.

At the UK level there have been reports^{[footnote 4]} produced regularly by DCMS focusing on the headline GVA and employment contributions. The reports showed that the direct impact of sport has been equivalent to 2.4% of the UK economy in 2016, increasing slightly to 2.5% in 2019.

Compared with other countries, the UK was found to have three significant advantages.

1. A very strong golf sector with strong connections to tourism.

2. A very strong network of grassroots clubs that form the backbone of the sport economy. A study that was conducted in Northern Ireland found that sport clubs recycle surpluses very quickly in the form of infrastructure development, which in turn contributes to economic growth and employment.

3. The UK has a large number of sport volunteers (6.2m), which was studied in the recent EVIS project^{[footnote 5]} and was the highest number across the eight countries examined. The availability of such a number of volunteers represents a huge asset for the sport sector allowing the grassroots clubs to operate at very little cost and thereby sustaining the current level of sport participation.

There are some limitations in what an SSA tells us about the sport economy. The SSA enables us to evaluate the direct and indirect economic effects of sport. However, there are further effects, associated with volunteering, health, and social impact (such as educational attainment) that are not monetised within the Input Output framework. Recent research^{[footnote 6]} has shown that sport has significant benefits from Subjective Wellbeing and Social Capital, associated to both sport participation and sport volunteering. From this point of view the value suggested by an SSA must be considered as a minimum estimation of the economic impact of sport and more like a starting point for any comprehensive analysis.

A key limitation of the SSAs in the UK is that, over the years, they have primarily focused on evaluating the direct impacts of sport. They have yet to fully evolve into a comprehensive SSA that includes indirect impacts, thereby linking sport with its supply chain. As a result, other than in the Pan European reports, we have never had the explicit construction of indirect multipliers estimated specifically for the sport industry. The current report addresses this issue, becoming a major policy tool that can be used not only for policy making nationally, but also by National Governing Bodies of sport in the evaluations of their economic activities This resource may prove to be very significant as sport is often associated with high construction activity, which in its turn is associated with high multiplier values.

3. Literature Review, comparison with other countries

The discussion of the economic impact of sport usually focuses on two methodologies: the National Income Accounting (NIA) framework and the Sport Satellite Account (SSA) approach. Both methodologies have been developed through European studies and evaluate the sport economy based on metrics such as consumer spending, Gross Value Added (GVA), and employment. Notable publications employing these methodologies include works by Gratton and Kokolakakis (2013)^{[footnote 7]}, SpEA et al. (2012)^{[footnote 8]}, and the Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) (2011)^{[footnote 9]}.

In contrast, the United States has considered a combination of approaches, focusing on sport-related spending, income, or GVA. Examples of such studies include those by Humphreys and Ruseski (2008)^{[footnote 10]} and Milano and Chelladurai (2011)^{[footnote 11]}. A key difference between these methodologies lies in the scope of sport under consideration. For instance, despite both estimating the US sports economy for the same year, Humphreys and Ruseski’s (2008) estimates are significantly smaller than those of Milano and Chelladurai (2011), primarily because the former used only household sports-related expenditures, while the latter included a broader range of data, encompassing sports-related consumption and investment by firms and the government. Similarly, the definitions used in the SSA and NIA methodologies would yield even higher estimates for sport, as they incorporate additional categories such as sport-related education and public administration.

Most approaches to evaluating the sports sector typically employ a multiplier to enhance the basic direct impact effects. The multiplier accounts for the economic ripple effects of additional spending, including both indirect effects from income flowing into sectors that supply the sports industry and induced effects resulting from the expenditure of these incomes. In tourism impact studies, for example, tourism expenditure is treated as an addition to the local economy’s usual expenditure flow. However, in sport, not all spending should be treated as additional at the national level. Criticisms of using multipliers in national economic impact studies, as discussed in the Henley Centre for Forecasting’s (1992)^{[footnote 12]} study, primarily relate to the potential for adverse effects on financial markets.

Nonetheless, the multiplier is appropriate for estimating the economic impact of sporting events, and impacts at local or regional level, which can generate additional expenditure, income, and employment. National studies in the UK and Europe often present indirect multipliers while omitting induced effects, largely due to the absence of tax modelling and behavioural indicators that influence saving rates, interest rates, and foreign spending. For instance, the most recent Pan-European SSA reports indirect multipliers only (European Commission, 2018), whereas the original economic study of sport in the UK by the Henley Centre for Forecasting (1992) introduced the concept of multipliers within a theoretical framework. Following this lead, the current report examines only the well-established indirect effects and multipliers but avoids extending the analysis into the induced effects which as discussed can be considered more controversial.

The primary outputs of SSAs globally are conducted in the UK, EU countries, Australia, and Japan. Previous economic evaluations have also been carried out in New Zealand, with the most recent one conducted by Sheffield Hallam University. The New Zealand study utilised the National Income Accounting methodology, a double-entry system previously employed by Sport England, taking into consideration the insights of the Vilnius definition and their research history. The Australian evaluation of the sport economy, detailed in the link^{[footnote 13]} provided, follows a similar logic to the approach outlined in this report for establishing the shares of the sport economy.

4. Methodology

4.1. Establishing a definition for sport.

4.1.1 Vilnius Definition 3.0

The well-established Vilnius definition of sport 2.0 is in the process of revision into Vilnius 3.0. This revision is happening at the European level with the active participation and leadership of UK research institutions. It partly reflects the changes of the CPA^{[footnote 14]} codes and partly the actual changing landscape of the sport economy with new items such as e-bikes and e-sports.

Up to the point of writing (September 2024) the revised Vilnius Definition includes nine rules for constructing an SSA as listed below.

1. Characteristic products in sport refer to activities where active participation in sport takes place. These are sporting services, sport-related education and in some countries sport-related military and police activities. All the remaining products, which are not characteristic, are connected products. Data on characteristic products are the minimum for reporting the results of a Satellite Account.

2. Active sports are all expenditures which are related to persons doing sport. Passive sport is sport consumption without actively doing sport. Examples for passive sport are sport betting, media, and participating in sport events as spectators. Many entries in the Vilnius Definition have active as well as passive characteristics, but in most cases, one of them dominates. In practice, only few entries are indicated as both.

3. Multipurpose infrastructure and multipurpose durable goods are excluded, e.g. roads, cars, TV sets. Dedicated infrastructure (e.g. CPA 2.1 F 42.99.22) is included.

4. To avoid double counting and to ensure completeness, correspondence must be established between the manufacturing sections and the trade/retailing sections (46, 47) of the table. Sections 46 and 47 are only relevant in terms of trade margins. This point applies to imported as well as domestically manufactured goods.

5. Data are collected on the basis of the Vilnius Definition. However, to take account of the country-specific sport landscape, additional CPA categories may exceptionally be included over and above the basic list agreed in the EU TF1 Sport. These sectors must be clearly communicated. Additional goods are always connected goods.

6. Sport associations are classified as 93.13 (regulating bodies) as they often seem to be misclassified. If such misclassifications occur, they should be corrected in the calculations.

7. Clarification: sport ministries are covered by 84.12.14. Note however, that sporting facilities operated by the public (incl. ministries) are accounted for in 93.11.10 (see long description of 84.12.14).

8. The entire consumption vector of sport tourists has to be taken into account, not just the sports-related goods; a sport tourist is a tourist whose primary reason for travel is sport. We account for all expenses attributable to the Vilnius Definition in the relevant categories and add a residual amount for the balance.

9. Sometimes sport-related companies can be found in wrong or other CPA/NACE^{[footnote 15]} categories (e.g. often in S 94 which explicitly rules out sport). In this case, or if companies have more than one CPA/NACE code, we include those companies in their primary CPA/NACE category in the satellite account.

4.1.2 Characteristic and Connected Goods

The Vilnius Definition 2.0 identified three distinct levels of analysis:

1. Core Area of Sport: This corresponds to the sector S 93.1, covering Sports Services.

2. Sport in a Narrow Sense: This includes the core definition and extends to all goods and services essential for participating in sport, such as the production of sports equipment, manufacturing and trade of sportswear, and sports infrastructure.

3. Sport in a Broad Sense: This category further broadens the scope to encompass all goods and services related to sport, including media, sport tourism, and sports betting.

However, the upcoming update to the Vilnius Definition (Version 3.0) shifts away from this framework. Instead, it will distinguish between “characteristic goods” of sport (an expanded version of the core definition) and “connected goods” to align with Eurostat’s requirements for Satellite Accounts.

According to the European System of Accounts (ESA) handbook, the revised Vilnius Definition will now be compatible with methodologies used in Tourism Satellite Accounts and Environmental Satellite Accounts. This new approach offers a more straightforward classification than the previous division into core, narrow, and broad domains.

The ESA handbook outlines two types of products:

• Characteristic Products: “These are typical products within the field under study. Satellite accounts can detail how these products are produced, the types of producers involved, the labour and capital used, and the efficiency of the production process. For example, in health, characteristic products include health services, public administration services, and education and R&D services in health.”

• Connected Products: “While relevant, these products are not typical or may belong to broader product categories. For example, in health, connected products include patient transport services and pharmaceutical products. Satellite Accounts do not provide production details for connected products, and their classification depends on the economic organisation within a country and the purpose of the satellite account”.

In the sport context, the distinction between characteristic and connected goods hinges on the presence of sport participation within a category. For instance, CPA code 93.1 (sport services) is included as it pertains to the operation of sport and fitness clubs. Similarly, many aspects of education that encourage children’s participation in sport are included.

The list below presents the characteristic products for the sport industry:

Sport Services (CPA Code 93.1):

• 93.11: Sports facility operation services
• 93.12: Services of sports clubs
• 93.13: Services of fitness facilities
• 93.19: Other sporting services

Education:

• 85.1: Pre-primary education services
• 85.2: Primary education services
• 85.31: General secondary education services
• 85.32: Technical and vocational secondary education services
• 85.42: Tertiary education services
• 85.51: Sports and recreation education services
• 85.52: Cultural education services (including dancing schools and instructors)
• 85.53: Driving school services (including flying and sailing schools)
• 85.60: Educational support services

Public Administration of Sport Services (not relevant for the UK):

• 84.22.11: Athletes employed in military defence services (where applicable)
• 84.24.11: Athletes employed in police services (where applicable)

All sporting goods and services not classified as characteristic within the Vilnius Definition are grouped as connected products.

4.1.3 Active v passive sports

In addition to the distinction between characteristic and connected goods, as previously outlined, the Vilnius Definition also introduces a differentiation between passive and active sport. This distinction enhances its utility, not only for economic analysis but also for Social Return on Investment (SROI) evaluations where it is crucial to identify explicitly the active aspects of sport.

• Active sport encompasses all expenditures associated with individuals actively participating in sport. Examples include spending on sporting services, the production of sports goods, retail of sports apparel, insurance, and the rental of sports equipment.
• Passive sport refers to the consumption of sport without active participation. Examples of passive sport include sports betting, media consumption, and attending sporting events as a spectator.

Depending on the specific context, certain categories can be classified as either active or passive. For instance, tourism and transport may fall into either category depending on their relation to sport. The Vilnius Definition makes these divisions explicit, thereby providing clearer guidelines for both economic assessments and SROI evaluations.

It is important to note that further adjustments to the definitions of active and passive sports are expected, in order to refine the results. For instance, the current division between active and passive sports is only carried out at the 2-digit level. In some sectors, however, this level of detail is insufficient, and further subdivisions would be beneficial in the future, provided the necessary data is available. Sports tourism, for example, includes both active elements (where the primary purpose of travel is participation in sports) and passive elements (such as attending a sporting event as a spectator). Nevertheless, CPA codes related to tourism, such as accommodation, hospitality, or land transport, are currently classified under active sports, as the proportion of active tourists is significantly higher than that of passive tourists. These limitations should be taken into account when interpreting the results.

4.2. Input Output and Multiregional Tables: regionalisation

Input-output tables are only published by the statistical offices for the UK and at national level for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, whereby the level of disaggregation, i.e. how many sectors are considered in detail, varies greatly from a total of 105 sectors in the IOT for the UK to 8 sectors in Wales. An Input-output table for England is missing, as is a detailed analysis of the intermediate links between the four nations and different sectors. If all this information is to be summarized in one model, so-called multinational or multiregional input-output tables are required.

The growing interest in economic analyses at a deeper geographical level means that the time and cost involved in creating these tables is increasingly valued and accepted.

As part of this study the first multinational input-output table (MNIOT) for the UK (see bottom part of figure 4.1 for a simplified version, for 4 nations with 3 sectors each) was also developed, based on the UK input-output table (top part of figure 4.1) and existing data.

Figure 4.1: Regionalisation procedure1

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

This MNIOT builds the basis for the creation of a multi-national Input-Output table in Sport (MNIOT:Sport). For this purpose, the sport satellite account (SSA) must be integrated into the multi-national input-output table.

To carry out the regionalisation of the table, a hybrid regionalisation approach (using survey- and non-survey-techniques) is used. This essentially requires six steps as outlined below.

• Step 1: Harmonisation of existing input-output tables for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland regarding the base year and the level of disaggregation.
• Step 2: Calculation of the missing IOT for England.
• Step 3: Balancing row and column sums using the RAS^{[footnote 16]} method.
• Step 4: Creation of a multi-national Input-Output table (MNIOT) according to the Isard model.
• Step 5: Implementation of a 3-dimensional RAS method to guarantee that rows and columns are balanced and at the same time the sum of all national sub-tables results in the original table for the UK.
• Step 6: Update for the year 2021.

A more detailed description of the individual steps and the data required is provided in the Feasibility report.

4.3. Impact analysis

4.3.1. Key figures

The two key figures for quantifying macroeconomic effects are gross value added (GVA), and employment effects. To distinguish value added effects correctly from other terms such as turnover or the gross production value, these terms are briefly explained below.

The gross or net turnover, in economic terms, is the equivalent of the gross production value, which forms the basis for all further calculations. It is defined as the value of all goods and services produced. Since the gross production value includes all inputs required, i.e. including imported and domestic goods and services used in the production process, this figure says little about the value added generated at domestic level.

If the required intermediate inputs are therefore deducted from the gross production value, the result is the gross value added (GVA), which is one of the most important economic indicators. It comprises all the resources available for the production: labour and capital factors, which are essentially personnel expenses, profits and depreciation.

The employment effects are calculated in parallel with the calculation of the value-added effects. If employment data are not available in the official statistics, methodologically a result can be arrived at either via the average personnel cost structure of the sectors, or via the average value-added contributions in the relevant sectors. Capacity utilisation in the relevant sectors must also be taken into account as additional employment will only be achieved if there is permanent additional demand (overtime is otherwise more likely) and existing capacities are fully utilised. In all other cases, however, existing jobs will be secured, and capacities will be further utilised.

Multipliers are a commonly used indicator in input-output analysis, derived from gross value added and employment data. They are calculated as the ratio of total effects (direct plus indirect) to direct effects. Thus, a GVA-multiplier of 1.5 means that for every £1 of GVA generated in the directly sport-related companies, another £0.50 of GVA is generated in the supply-network of these companies.

A sector with a high multiplier is often interpreted as being well connected to the rest of the economy. On the other hand, low multipliers are often considered to be the sign of a sector heavily reliant on imports. However, it is also possible that a sector produces most of the goods and services it needs on its own, e.g. a farm using part of the harvest of one year as seeds for next year. The value of a multiplier should therefore be interpreted with care. These multipliers are specifically calculated from the intermediate goods-matrix of the MNIOT for sport. Multipliers of sport-related sectors are often found to be close to their non-sport counterparts. For example, the production of sport-shoes is similar to the production of non-sport shoes, as opposed to the production of cars, electricity or financial services.

4.3.2. An example of input-output framework

Input-output analysis plays a key role in the investigations carried out for this report. This methodology was essentially developed by Wassily Leontief in the first half of the 20th century, for which he was awarded the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1973. To this day, a great deal of research has been carried out to extend the basic model with additional functionalities. Besides the Satellite Account approach utilised in this analysis, input-output analysis is also extensively applied in research involving pollutant emissions and the energy consumption of various economic sectors.

The basic idea of input-output analysis is to divide the economy into sectors and to study their interaction. Firstly, there is the economic cycle, in which goods and services are produced at the various stages of the value chain. For example, grain is ground into flour in the mill, which is then baked into bread in the bakery and sold via wholesalers and retailers. Each of these operations increases the value of the purchased product (“value added”) and requires additional inputs such as energy, packaging and transportation as well as labour and capital. In the end, a finished product is available, which is used in final consumption. This final consumption may be private or public consumption, exports or investments. Regardless of the consumption type, the product is removed from the domestic economic cycle and is no longer converted directly into other goods or services.

In its original form, input-output analysis can show the effect of increased final demand for a specific good on the economy as a whole. For example, if a company invests in a new building, this increases the final demand for the services of architectural firms and construction companies. These require upstream companies, which in turn purchase upstream services. Ultimately, this process results in an infinite cycle of increasingly finer supply streams and the corresponding provision of services by other sectors.

In an extension, the input-output model can also analyse the ongoing operation of individual sectors (sport, culture, tourism) or even companies. For this purpose, satellite accounts are employed. Simply put, these accounts separate companies from their original sectors and reassign them to newly defined ones. These contain just the values of the companies examined, which continue to interact with the rest of the economy.

Figure 4.2: Simplified Input Output Table

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

Figure 4.2 above shows a simplified input-output table depicting the production of three goods. At the top left is the intermediate input matrix, which shows in its columns how many goods of which type are required to produce each good. For example, reading vertically, to produce Good 1, we require 1 unit of Good 1 and 3 units of Good 2, a total of 4 inputs. On the other hand, reading horizontally, the intermediate output of Good 1 equals 4, allocated as follows: 1 unit is used by Good 1, 2 by Good 2 and 1 by Good 3. At the top right is the final consumption, i.e. the goods that leave the economic cycle. Finally, the bottom left quadrant shows the value added, which is necessary to process the intermediate inputs into products. Since everything that is used must also be produced, the column of total use on the far right is identical in value to the row of production values at the bottom. Although the employment effects are not strictly part of the table, they can be logically attached to it at the bottom (not shown here).

There are several effects which can be evaluated with an input-output table: Value added effects, employment effects and effects on wages are among the most commonly used.

4.3.3. Direct effects

The direct effect comprises the value that is generated directly by the producers of the sport-related goods and services. It describes the most visible part of the sport economy.

Direct effects in the context of the sport industry refer to the immediate economic impact generated by the industry’s activities. These effects can be observed through five key metrics as outlined below.

1. Employment: The number of jobs created directly by the sport industry, including those in sports teams, clubs, event management, and sports facilities, as well as related retail sectors such as sporting goods stores.

2. Gross Value Added (GVA): The contribution of the sport industry to the economy’s overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This includes the value of goods and services produced by the sector, minus the cost of inputs required to produce them.

3. Wages and Salaries: The total income paid to people working directly within the sport industry. This includes wages, salaries, and any other compensation for employment.

4. Output: The total value of production or sales generated directly by the sport industry. This encompasses ticket sales, merchandise, broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and other revenue streams specific to sports activities.

5. Consumer Spending: Direct consumer spending on sports-related activities, such as attending live events, purchasing sports equipment, and spending on associated travel and accommodation.

Application of Input-Output Tables in the Sport Industry: Input-output tables allow economists and policymakers to trace the flow of economic activity in the sport industry and its interaction with other sectors as explained below:

• Understanding Economic Contribution: Input-output analysis can identify how much the sport industry contributes directly to the economy by isolating its activities and assessing its direct output and employment levels.
• Policy Formulation: Policymakers can use direct effects data from input-output tables to inform decisions about investments in sports infrastructure, subsidies for sporting events, or the development of sports programmes that could stimulate economic growth.
• Sector Comparison: Direct effects analysis helps compare the sport industry’s economic footprint with other sectors, providing insights into its relative importance within the national or regional economy.

In the example of Figure 4.2 direct effects can be recognised in the form of GVA, consumer spending, wages, and overall output.

4.3.4. Indirect effects

The indirect effect is derived from the supplier relationships (intermediate input links) along the entire value chain: The production of sport-related goods and services requires intermediate inputs from third-party companies, such as electricity, fabrics, transportation services and much more. This interaction stimulates activity in the respective sectors, whereby it should be noted that these upstream suppliers in turn require intermediate inputs, thus creating a very broad and theoretically infinitely long network of intermediate inputs.

In the case of the multinational analyses presented in the current report, these indirect effects are distributed across all four nations. Thus, if a sport-related good or service is produced, indirect effects can be found in each part of the United Kingdom. Some key aspects of indirect effects in the sport industry are explained below:

1. Supply chain impact:

The sport industry relies on a variety of suppliers for goods and services. This chain includes everything from the production of sports equipment and apparel to the construction and maintenance of sports facilities, marketing services, and media production. The demand for these inputs generates economic activity in the related industries, leading to indirect effects.

2. Business-to-business transactions:

Indirect effects capture the economic transactions that occur as businesses in the sport industry purchase goods and services from other businesses. For example, a sports venue may purchase food and beverages from local suppliers, hire security and cleaning services, and invest in technology and broadcasting equipment. The spending by the sport industry on these goods and services supports jobs and revenue in other sectors.

3. Employment in supporting industries:

As the sport industry grows, it increases demand for inputs, thereby boosting employment in sectors that supply these inputs. For example, increased demand for sports events can lead to more jobs in construction (for new venues), transportation, hospitality, and media production. These jobs represent the indirect employment effects generated by the sport industry.

4. Multiplier effect:

The indirect effects are often analysed through the concept of economic multipliers. An initial expenditure in the sport industry leads to subsequent rounds of spending within the supply chain. Each round of spending supports additional economic activity, magnifying the initial impact. The multiplier effect illustrates how spending within the sport industry cascades through the economy, affecting various sectors beyond the initial point of expenditure. Investing in sectors with high multipliers maximises benefits for the entire economy.

5. Regional and national economic integration:

Indirect effects highlight the interconnections between the sport industry and the wider economy. For example, when a national sports league expands, it can increase demand for locally produced goods, stimulate infrastructure development, and drive innovation in related sectors. This economic integration is crucial for understanding the broader significance of the sport industry within both regional and national contexts.

6. Importance for policymakers:

Understanding the indirect effects is crucial for policymakers, as it reveals the broader economic benefits of supporting the sport industry. This knowledge can justify investments in sports infrastructure, events, and programmes, demonstrating that the impact extends far beyond the sports sector itself.

4.4. Satellite approach.

Standard impact analysis works very well as long as whole sectors are analysed. But when one deals with an industry that is distributed across different sectors, or where only parts of sectors are important and other parts need to be left out, the normal procedures cannot be applied.

Sport is such a case, as there is not a single two-digit (CPA) sector which is purely sport related. In this case, it is necessary to split these sectors into two parts and treat them separately. As an example, the sector concerned with the production of footwear will be split into the production of footwear for sport and the production of other types of footwear.

Figure 4,3 represents the simplified, original input-output-table. Most importantly, it contains only three sectors producing goods 1 to 3. Imagine that sport-related content is identified in sectors 1 and 2. The extension to the satellite account is shown schematically in the Figure 4.3. Compared with the original (Figure 4.2), there are two more sectors marked in green, which represent the sport-related areas analysed. Their values are subtracted from the original sectors, so that the entire economy remains the same size and double counting is avoided. In this case, the sport-related companies are presented as separate sectors, and their sectors of origin are reduced by the respective values. This technique allows the sport-related companies to be analysed as if they were conventionally recognised sectors, as the full range of national accounting methods is still available.

Figure 4.3: Simplified Sport Satellite Account (SSA)

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

Producing a satellite account requires seven steps:

1. Insert additional rows and columns for the satellite-data;

2. Insert sport-related output and GVA-data (green values in the lower left quadrant);

3. Insert sport-related final demand-data (green values in the upper right quadrant);

4. Subtract sport-related output and GVA-data from their original sectors to avoid double-counting (red values in the lower left quadrant);

5. Subtract sport-related final demand-data from their original sectors to avoid double-counting (red values in the upper right quadrant);

6. Insert sport-related intermediate demand-data (green values in the upper left quadrant); and

7. Subtract sport-related intermediate goods matrix (upper left quadrant) from their original sectors and ensure that the final output is balanced: the total demand should equal total supply for each column and row.

Note that steps 6 and 7 are extremely data intensive. To get around the balancing problem, a suitable algorithm is often applied, such as the RAS algorithm^{[footnote 17]}.

4.5. Distribution of direct GVA by sport and local authorities.

The conclusion of the UK and regional SSAs is followed by a localisation of the account at Local Authority (LA) level, and a distribution of the direct effect on GVA attributable to sport (presented in the Appendix). The former follows the same methodology as outlined in previous sections, since the Local Authority GVA data are publicly available and in more aggregate units of LAs we have GVA distributions by CPA categories.

However, the standard methodology is not possible in the by sport analysis. To establish with certainty the GVA attributed to each sport constitutes a major undertaking. In some cases, such as golf, football or motorsports, there are previous studies and the GVA values are in the public domain. For this study, it would be impossible to construct an SSA for each sport under examination. Such an undertaking would take years rather than months. However, it is possible to follow the methodology that has been applied by UK Sport to establish the economic impact of Olympic and Paralympic Sports^{[footnote 18]}. Reports using this methodology have stood the test of time and have been published three times by UK Sport. In this report, the analysis is extended to the full range of sports, not just Olympic and Paralympic components. For example, there is a full inclusion of gambling, informal running (included under athletics) and an estimate for Gaelic Games.

The model distributes the direct impact on GVA by using participation data by sport and some business presence considerations. The business side was used extensively for sports such as gymnastics, athletics and football, which have participation profiles that do not fit easily with a model based on adult participation. In the case of gymnastics, most participation comes from children, which is not reflected in the participation rates of national data sets such as the Active Lives Survey^{[footnote 19]}.

The methodology has the four steps described below.

1. Decide which CPA economic activities are relevant to each sport. For example, CPA activities such as 1.19 (‘Growing of other non-perennial crops’) are only relevant in the context of equestrian sports. The association between these activities and sports was determined through consultation and prior experience.

2. Use Active Lives Survey 2021 for deriving participation data for each sport. This source provided most of the information for summer and winter sports. However, there was very little content for Paralympic sport. The latter was collected from publicly available data supplied by Sport England.^{[footnote 20]}

3. Distribute the GVA for each CPA category by factoring in the relevant CPA codes for each sport and the number of adult participants. In most cases, the total GVA for each code is allocated based on participation rates, with only a few exceptions (as mentioned before).

4. Fine tune the model, by considering the business presence for some sports and the known impacts where separate studies have been conducted previously.

5. Main data sources

The starting point is the rich tradition that exists in the UK for Sport Satellite Accounts and economic impact studies of sport more generally. DCMS has a database^{[footnote 21]} of Sport Satellite Accounts, while UK Sport also has made a similar study showing the economic contribution by sport^{[footnote 22]}.

Reports on the economic importance of sport, using the National Income Methodology, have also been produced in England^{[footnote 23]}, Scotland^{[footnote 24]}, Wales^{[footnote 25]}, and Northern Ireland^{[footnote 26]}.

In the case of the Multiregional Input-Output Table, a critical aspect of data research was international and interregional trade. The most comprehensive international trade data for transactions involving the UK, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are provided by UK Trade Info^{[footnote 27]}. However, interregional data were not available in its various datasets. Guidance for interregional trade was derived from the ‘Experimental methodology for producing UK interregional trade estimates’^{[footnote 28]} published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Of paramount importance were the reports from the Office for Internal Market (OIM)^{[footnote 29]}, which provide aggregate data on trade between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Since UK trade measures are not available for England in 2019, OIM utilises two sources to estimate trade values and proportions for England: the EUREGIO database^{[footnote 30]}, which provides estimates for intra-UK and external trade as of 2010, and the ESCoE publication^{[footnote 31]} in 2021, which estimates intra-UK sales as of 2015. These publications were extensively used in the modelling of MNIOT. Additional data sources on trade can be found in the Appendix.

After addressing interregional trade, it was crucial to establish datasets for Input-Output Tables (IOTs) in all home nations and the UK. At the very least, such datasets existed at an aggregate level for every nation except England. For England, it was estimated as the difference between the UK’s IOT and the IOTs of the other nations. The most detailed IOT was that of the UK^{[footnote 32]}, followed by Scotland^{[footnote 33]}, Northern Ireland^{[footnote 34]}, and Wales^{[footnote 35]}. However, in the case of Wales, only a very aggregate IOT was found from the University of Cardiff. Since multi-regional input-output tables must be created symmetrically, the input-output tables for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the UK were adjusted to the same level of disaggregation (i.e., the same number of sectors) before deriving the IOT for England. For IOTs available at a more detailed level, this was achieved by aggregating the relevant rows and columns. Conversely, for IOTs with a lower level of detail, highly aggregated rows and columns were further disaggregated using additional information, such as labour market statistics.

For both the Multiregional Input-Output Table and the Sport Satellite Account framework, a detailed framework of Gross Value Added (GVA) data for the UK and the four home nations was required. Several sources exist for the UK, but national data tend to be more aggregate. UK sources include the Input-Output Tables, as referenced previously, and the Annual Business Survey^{[footnote 36]}(ABS), which surveys a sample of 73,000 companies across the UK, excluding the financial sector. The ABS draws its sample from the Inter-Departmental Business Survey.

The Regional Gross Value Added (balanced) tables from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) provide high-level information on GVA per Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) per region in the UK^{[footnote 37]}. Additionally, other ONS datasets break down overall GVA by local authority^{[footnote 38]}, which can be utilised for subsequent parts of this project. Typically, SIC codes are presented at the two-digit level, meaning that, for example, there is one GVA value for Education, rather than its individual subdivisions.

Employment data are available at a highly granular level, extending to five-digit codes, sourced from the Business Register and Employment Survey^{[footnote 39]} (BRES). These encompass data for both the UK (up to three-digit codes) and Great Britain (up to five-digit codes). The BRES datasets, combined with the Annual Business Survey dataset, were instrumental in developing the SSA framework for the UK, providing detail at the four-digit code level. Further employment data are also available for regions of England and Wales^{[footnote 40]}, as well as for the local authorities within these nations^{[footnote 41]}.

Additional datasets specific to Wales include the ‘Statistics Wales Quarterly Update^{[footnote 42]}, which provides insight on the latest developments in Welsh statistics, covering aspects such as the economy, the labour market, wellbeing, and demographic statistics. Moreover, the Trade Survey for Wales^{[footnote 43]} collects information directly from businesses operating in Wales to assess trade flows, encompassing sales and purchases of goods and services to and from Wales. However, it is important to note that the methodology employed is still in development, leading to some issues with data quality that need to be addressed when utilising the dataset.

For Scotland, there is a substantial database of economic data. Several publications were taken into account, such as the ‘Exports Statistics of Scotland’^{[footnote 44]} and ‘Scotland’s contribution to the UK economy, wellbeing, and quality of life^{[footnote 45]}. The latter publication revealed that Scotland had a trade deficit amounting to 7.6% of Scottish GDP in 2020. Additionally, it encompasses links to a broad spectrum of topics associated with this research. Further, a detailed labour market profile for Scotland is available through the NOMIS website^{[footnote 46]}, bringing together data from several sources.

For Northern Ireland, the data from the Labour Force Summary Report^{[footnote 47]} were considered for the year ending December 2021. Furthermore, data were examined to provide context for the sport economy in terms of participation and comparable economic contributions from other countries. This process involved reviewing the EU 2018 Pan-European Satellite Account^{[footnote 48]} and data from Sport England pertaining to economic development^{[footnote 49]} and Active Places^{[footnote 50]}. For a comprehensive list of data sources for this section, please refer to the Appendix.

6. UK results, comparisons with other sectors

To quantify the economic impact of sport in the UK, all sport-related products and services - according to the Vilnius definition of sport are included. There have been some historically important categories in the case of the UK, which have been included in a transparent way, a practice that is allowed under the rules of the Vilnius definition.

Under the latest discussions for the updated Vilnius definition (version 3.0), a distinction is no longer made between a core definition of sport, a narrower and a broader definition, but as also recommended in the ESA Handbook, between characteristic and connected goods (chapter 4.1.2 Characteristic and Connected Goods.

In the following section, the effects of sports on gross production value / output, gross value added and employment, both in terms of headcount and full-time equivalent jobs, are presented for the UK. More detailed results for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as for local authorities follow in chapters 7 and 8.

6.1. Output

Output, or the gross production value, forms, after deduction of all required intermediate inputs, the basis for calculating gross value added. It is, with the exception of wholesale and retail, comparable to turnover.

According to Table 6.1 and Figure 6.1, in 2021, sports-related goods and services worth just under £100 bn were produced in the UK, which corresponds to around 2.52% of total UK output (output or gross production value).

Of this sum, just under £28 bn is attributable to characteristic goods. These are the goods and services that are typical of the sector under review. These include sports facility operation services, services of sport clubs and fitness facilities as well as other services in the field of sport. Physical education at all school levels and other sports training (dance schools, riding schools, etc.) are also included in these characteristic goods. These £28 bn represent 0.7% of total economic output.

In addition to characteristic goods, there are also connected goods, i.e. goods and services that are relevant for a function but without being typical. This includes a variety of sectors, such as the production of sporting goods, the manufacture and trade of sportswear, the construction of sports infrastructure, transportation, media and sports betting.

The share of these connected goods in direct output is much higher than that of characteristic goods at almost £72 bn. 1.81% of total economic output is generated by these connected, sport-relevant goods and services.

Table 6.1: Sport-related Output, 2021, £m

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	£m	Share	£m	share	£m	share
Characteristic goods	27,937	0.70 %	12,919	0.33 %	40,856	1.03 %	1.46
Connected goods	71,689	1.81 %	48,572	1.22 %	120,261	3.03 %	1.68
TOTAL	99,626	2.51 %	61,492	1.55 %	161,118	4.06 %	1.62

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

This total output of £100 bn, i.e. the sum of characteristic and connected goods, does not account for what is triggered in the upstream value chain, or indirect effects. Additional turnover and output are also generated in this upstream value chain.

These indirect effects amount to £12.9 bn for the characteristic goods and they are even higher for connected goods at almost £48.6 bn.

In total, around £161.1 bn of output was generated in 2021, which accounts for 4.06 per cent of the UK economy’s total output.

Figure 6.1: Sport-related output in the UK, characteristic and connected goods, 2021, £bn

Source: Sheffield Hallam University

The multipliers, which show by how much the total effect exceeds the direct effect, are 1.46 for the characteristic goods and 1.68 for the connected goods. The estimation of the multipliers is done by comparing, in each case, the direct and total effects. The fact that the multiplier for characteristic goods is lower than for connected goods is not surprising, as characteristic goods are all services that require comparatively little intermediate inputs. By contrast to this situation, connected goods also include manufacturing sectors or the construction sector, which require significantly more intermediate inputs to manufacture their products. Overall, the multiplier for sport is 1.62. Consequently, every £! generated in sport triggers a further £0.62 in the rest of the UK economy, which has no direct links to sport.

Figure 6.2: Sport-related output in the UK, active and passive sports, 2021, £bn.

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The breakdown into active and passive sport shows that, at £86.8 bn, 87% of the direct output is attributable to active sport. Even in the total effect, which amounts to £139.3 bn for active sport, this share is reduced only marginally to 86% due to a slightly larger multiplier for passive sports (1.70) compared with active sports (1.60). Passive sport, i.e. only the interest in sport and the associated expenditure, accounts for £12.8 bn directly. Including the effects in the upstream value chain, this amount increases to £21.8 bn.

6.2. Gross value added

Gross value added is probably one of the most important indicators of economic activity. It is very closely linked to gross domestic product but, in contrast, is not influenced by net taxes on final consumption. The latter influence GDP, although there is no link to production and therefore to economic output.

Sport Characteristic and Connected sectors directly contribute £53.6bn in GVA (2.63% of the total economic value). If the £29.5 bn of indirect effects in the upstream value chain are also included, the total value is £83.1bn or 4.07% of the total economic value. The multiplier is 1.55; for every £1 generated in sport, the rest of the economy benefits with an additional £0.55 pence of gross added value.

Table 6.2: Sport-related GVA, 2021, £m

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	£m	share	£m	share	£m	share
Characteristic	18,258	0.89 %	6,512	0.32%	24,770	1.21%	1.36
Connected	35,337	1.74%	23,011	1.12%	58,347	2.86%	1.65
TOTAL	53,595	2.63%	29,522	1.44%	83,117	4.07%	1.55

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The distribution between characteristic and associated goods at each level is shown in Figure 6.3. The production of characteristic goods and services (darker in the graph) generates £18.3bn worth of GVA directly and a further £6.5 bn from suppliers. In total, this results in a value of £24.8 bn, which is attributable to the characteristic goods of sport. Putting these figures in relation to each other results in a multiplier of 1.36, which means that for every £1 of GVA generated in the signature businesses and facilities directly associated with sport, a further £0.36 of GVA is generated in the rest of the UK economy.

Figure 6.3: Sport-related gross value added in the UK, characteristic and connected goods, 2021, £bn.

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

Connected goods (the lighter shade in the graph) generate £35.3 bn of GVA directly and a further £23.0 bn indirectly. These values give a total of £58.3 bn. The quotient formed from these figures again represents the multiplier: at 1.65, which is significantly higher than for the characteristic goods. As with output, service providers require fewer intermediate inputs and therefore trigger lower effects in the upstream value chain. At the same time, service providers usually have a higher share of value added in the direct effect, which also has a negative impact on the resulting quotient and thus the multiplier.

In the distinction between active and passive sport, 89% of direct value added is generated in active sport, which corresponds to £47.6 bn. Only 11%, or £6.0 bn, is attributable to passive sport. In the upstream value chain, the indirect effects, £25.1 bn are generated by active sport and £4.4 bn by passive sport, resulting in a total effect of £72.7 bn for active sport and £10.4 bn for passive sport. This finding means that passive sport has a significantly higher multiplier (1.73) than active sport (1.53), which reduces the share of active sport in the overall effect to 87%.

Figure 6.4: Sport-related output in the UK, active and passive sports, 2021, £bn

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

It is also interesting to take a more detailed look at which economic sectors generate the greatest sport-relevant gross added value. The top 20 sports-relevant sectors are shown in the Figure 6.5 below.

In terms of the direct gross value added effect, “Education services” and “Sporting services” make the largest contribution to gross value added: this amounts to £9.7 bn for “Education services” and just under £9 bn for “Sporting services”. Together they account for 34.6%, i.e. more than a third of the direct gross value added of sport. These categories are followed in third place by “Retail trade services” (just under £4.8 bn), ahead of the “Media” (in detail: “Motion Picture, Video & TV Programme Production, Sound Recording & Music Publishing Activities & Programming and Broadcasting Activities”) with £2.8 bn and “Construction” with £2.4 bn. At 53.1%, the top five sports-related sectors already account for more than half of the gross value added generated by sport.

In the coming years, it remains to be seen whether the heavily tourism-dependent sectors of “Accommodation services” and “Food and beverage serving services” will move further up the rankings. At a total of £3.6 bn, this figure could be significantly lower than in an average year due to the COVID-related restrictions still in place internationally in 2021 (and therefore fewer active sports tourists and visitors to major sporting events).

Figure 6.5: Top-20 sport sectors from SSA based on direct effects on GVA, 2021, £m

Computer programming, consultancy and related services	657
Other manufactured goods	695
Sports services and amusement and recreation services	758
Motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers	827
Land transport services	856
Publishing services	875
Wholesale and retail trade and repair services of motor vehicles and motorcycles	1,016
Other transport equipment	1,175
Gambling and betting services	1,471
Public administration and defence services; compulsory social security services	1,564
Wholesale trade services, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles	1,722
Food and beverage serving services	1,752
Accommodation services	1,856
Human health services	2,232
Rental and leasing services	2,304
Construction	2,416
Motion Picture, Video & TV Programme Production, Sound Recording & Music Publishing Activities & Programming And Broadcasting Activities	2,776
Retail trade services, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles	4,786
Sporting services	8,952
Education services	9,730

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The economic significance of sport becomes even more evident when compared to other sectors (Figure 6.6). At £53.6 billion, the combined GVA of sport, encompassing both characteristic and connected goods, surpasses that of the “Construction of buildings” sector (£40.2 billion) and the “Food and beverage service activities” sector (£36.5 billion). It also generates more than twice the GVA of “Civil engineering” (£25.0 billion). Additionally, sport accounts for more than half of the total GVA of the “Retail trade” sector (£101.6 billion). These comparisons, drawn from the UK input-output table, highlight the substantial economic impact of sport. It should be noted, however, that there are overlaps between the GVA attributed to sport and the values assigned to comparison sectors within CPA categories (for instance, retail includes sporting goods, and betting and gambling include sports betting).

Figure 6.6: Sector comparison, from IOT, based on GVA, UK, 2021, £bn

Gambling and betting activities	5.1
Accomodation	12.2
Agriculture and hunting	13.7
Sports (characteristic goods)	18.3
Land transport	21.5
Civil engineering	25.0
Manufacture of food, beverages and tobacco	28.7
Telecommunications	33.3
Sports (connected goods)	35.3
Food and beverage service activities	36.5
Construction of buildings	40.2
Sports (characteristic & connected)	53.6
Financial service activities	89.1
Retail trade	101.6

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

6.3. Employment

In addition to economic performance, expressed in the form of gross value added, employment is also an important aspect of economic policy, as the availability of jobs for the domestic population is one of the fundamental tasks of the public sector. In principle, a distinction can be made between employment in headcount (the number of people employed in a sector regardless of how many hours they work) and in full-time equivalents (FTE: the number of full time equivalent jobs in a sector which can be derived by multiplying the hours worked by the headcount and dividing it by the typical number of hours worked by a full time employee); in this chapter, employment in headcount will be examined first. Looking at both indicators is useful and important to be able to make statements about the development of employment in sport.

As can be seen from the Table 6.3, around 1.25 million people are directly employed in sport-related professions. This corresponds to 3.89% of the total workforce. This share is significantly higher than the share of gross value added of 2.63%, which allows the conclusion that sport is employment-intensive and can be regarded as a job engine. If the creation of jobs is the focus of economic policy, sports - and in particular the characteristic aspects of sport – is therefore a well-suited sector for corresponding employment policy measures.

In addition to the direct effects, the indirect job effects triggered in the upstream value chain must also be taken into account. Almost half a million jobs are secured or created outside of the sport industry, meaning that the overall effect amounts to almost 1.75 million people in the UK who are directly or indirectly employed through sport (both characteristic and connected activities). This equates to an impressive 5.44% share of the total economy. The multiplier for the sport economy amounts to 1.4: therefore, one job in the sports economy secures 0.4 additional jobs in the rest of the UK economy.

Table 6.3: Sport-related employment, 2021, headcounts

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	Jobs	share	Jobs	share	Jobs	share
Characteristic	553,552	1.72%	123,327	0.38%	676,879	2.10%	1.22
Connected	695,978	2.17%	373,266	1.17%	1,069,244	3.34%	1.54
TOTAL	1,249,530	3.89%	496,593	1.55%	1,746,123	5.44%	1.40

Source: Sheffield Hallam University

Figure 6.7: Sport-related employment in the UK, characteristic and connected goods, 2021, headcounts

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

In contrast to output and value added, employment is more evenly split between characteristic and connected goods. The sectors grouped together in the production of characteristic goods are particularly employment-intensive, so that the direct share of those employed in sport amounts to 44%. This share corresponds to 553,552 jobs. The remaining 56%, or 695,978 jobs, are accounted for by employment in the manufacture of connected goods in sport. Of the 496,593 indirect jobs created, 123,327 are attributable to characteristic goods and 373,266 to connected goods. This situation results in a total effect of 676,879 for characteristic goods and 1,069,244 for connected goods. As the production of characteristic goods is particularly employment-intensive (hence, no need for many external inputs), this has an impact on the multiplier, which amounts to only 1.22. This value is higher for connected goods at 1.54. Due to the lower multipliers, the share of characteristic goods in the overall effect is reduced to 39%, which is still significantly higher than for output or value added.

The breakdown of employment effects into active and passive sports shows that jobs created through passive sports account for around 5.2% of all jobs created directly. 1,184,015 jobs, i.e. 94.8% of the direct employment effect, are attributable to active sports. Due to the significantly higher multiplier of 2.03 for passive sports (active sports: 1.36), the share of passive sports in the overall effect increases slightly to 7.6%.

Figure 6.8: Sport-related employment in the UK, active and passive sports, 2021, headcounts

Source: Sheffield Hallam University

A breakdown by the individual sport-specific sectors shows that three sectors in particular dominate: “Sport services” with 387,685 jobs, “Education services” with 196,119 jobs and the employment-intensive “Retail trade services” with 139,203 jobs account for a total of 57.9% of the direct employment effect in sports. The two sectors heavily influenced by tourism, “Food and beverage serving activities” with 95,216 jobs and “Accommodation services” with 61,540 jobs, follow behind in 4th and 5th place. Here, too, these two sectors could be higher in subsequent years, as tourism had not yet returned to full strength in 2021 due to Covid.

Figure 6.9: Top 20 sport sectors based on direct employment, 2021, headcounts

Computer programming, consultancy	8,962
Services to buildings and landscape	9,615
Motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers	9,714
Other manufactured goods	11,051
Rental and leasing services	13,032
Other transport equipment	13,169
Products of agriculture	14,012
Wholesale/retail/repair services: motor vehicles	19,810
Public administration	21,341
Wholesale trade services	22,379
Gambling and betting services	22,819
Media	23,153
Land transport	24,172
Construction	29,505
Human health services	46,459
Accommodation services	61,540
Food and beverage serving services	95,216
Retail trade services	139,203
Education services	196,119
Sports services	387,685

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The above-average employment intensity of sport is also evident in comparison with other sectors of the economy. Although there are other employment-intensive sectors such as “Retail trade services” (not included in the figure with just under 3 million employment) or “Food and beverage service activities”, sport scores highly in terms of employment compared with most sectors, for example, sectors such as “Financial service activities”, “Telecommunications” or “Land transport”, which are more value-added intensive than employment-intensive. With more than 1.2 million jobs, sport employs more people than “Wholesale trade services” or twice as many as “Land transport”.

A comparison of characteristic sports goods with other sectors reveals that they are on par with “Legal services” in terms of job creation and generate more employment than “Financial service activities.” It is important to note that this comparison is only intended to provide a clearer understanding of the scale of the sports sector, as overlaps exist between sports and the comparison sectors.

Figure 6.10: Sector comparison based on employment, UK, 2021, headcounts

Gambling and betting activities	78,685.0
Motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers	161,749.0
Telecommunications	225,477.0
Manufacture of food, beverages and tobacco	393,581.0
Accomodation	403,070.0
Agriculture and hunting	468,820.0
Financial service activities	474,372.0
Legal services	536,789.0
Sports (characteristic goods)	553,552.0
Land transport	606,297.0
Sports (connected goods)	695,978.0
Wholesale trade services	1,111,312
Sports (characteristic & connected)	1,249,530.0
Food and beverage service activities	1,985,245.0

Source: Sheffield Hallam University

6.4. Full time equivalents

The employment effects in full-time equivalents (FTEs) are, of course, very similar to those of headcount employment, but the distinction between full-time and part-time jobs can sometimes reveal some interesting differences and provide insights relevant to employment policy.

Table 6.4: Sport-related employment, 2021, full-time-equivalents

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	FTEs	share	FTEs	share	FTEs	share
Characteristic	354,152	1.40%	96,482	0.38%	450,634	1.78%	1.27
Connected	523,960	2.06%	313,387	1.24%	837,347	3.30%	1.60
TOTAL	878,112	3.46%	409,869	1.62%	1,287,981	5.08%	1.47

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The direct employment effects of sport amount to just under 880,000 full-time equivalents. This corresponds to 3.46% of the workforce (in FTE). This share is lower than the employment share in headcount (3.89%), which indicates that there is an above-average level of part-time employment in sport. The indirect effects amount to just under 410,000. The total number of full-time equivalent employment (FTEs) in sport is therefore just under 1.3 million, which corresponds to 5.08% of the overall economy. The proportion of FTEs in terms of headcount is only 70% in the direct effect (878,112/1,249,530), while in the overall effect this percentage increases to 74%. However, both values are below the UK sector average of 79%.

The relatively high level of part-time employment in characteristic goods is particularly striking. Here, the proportion of FTEs in the headcount is only 64% directly (354,152/553,552), or 67% overall. Nevertheless, the share of characteristic goods in the direct employment effect remains at 40% (354,152/878,112) and continues to be well above the gross value-added share of 34%. The finding that the characteristic sports sector is above-average employment-intensive therefore also remains valid in terms of full-time equivalents.

Figure 6.11: Sport-related employment in the UK, characteristic and connected goods, 2021, FTEs

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The share of FTEs of connected goods in the headcount is significantly higher, only just below the UK sector average, at 75% (523,960/695,978) in the direct employment effect and 78% in the total employment effect.

Another important indicator is productivity, which can be derived as a quotient of gross value added and full-time equivalent employment. Accordingly, the productivity of sport amounts to £61,000 in direct effect, whereby the characteristic goods with £51,673 per FTE are significantly below the productivity in the connected goods (£76,372). Both characteristic and connected goods are therefore below the UK industry average of £80,500, which is due to the fact that sport is more employment-intensive than gross value-added-intensive. The two EU-wide studies on the economic importance of sport come to the same conclusion: in all countries, with the exception of Poland in 2012, a high employment intensity and thus lower productivity was demonstrated.

Figure 6.12: Sport-related employment in the UK, active and passive sports, 2021, FTEs

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The breakdown of employment effects by active and passive sport shows only minor differences: here too, the proportion of jobs created by passive sport is only 6.2% of all directly created jobs. The share of passive sport in the overall effect increases to 8.5% due to the higher multiplier of 2.03 compared to active sport (multiplier of 1.43).

6.5. Wages and salaries

The effects on wages and salaries, expressed here as personnel expenses before taxes, are closely linked to both employment and gross value-added effects. Income levels play a crucial role in driving consumption-induced downstream effects within the value chain, often referred to as induced effects, which are directly tied to consumers’ purchasing power. The most important results are therefore briefly summarised below.

As can be seen from the Table 6.5 and Figure 6.13 below, just under £34.8 bn in wages (equivalent to 3.08% of the UK economy) are paid in sport-related occupations. Added to this is a further £17.0 bn in the upstream value chain, resulting in wages and salaries totalling £51.7 bn, which equates to 4.6% of all personnel expenditure.

Table 6.5: Sport-related wages and salaries, 2021, £m

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	£m	share	£m	share	£m	share
Characteristic	13,133	1.16%	3,711	0.33%	16,844	1.49%	1.28
Connected	21,652	1.92%	13,239	1.17%	34,891	3.09%	1.61
TOTAL	34,786	3.08%	16,950	1.50%	51,736	4.58%	1.49

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

At 3.08%, the share of sport-related wages and salaries is below the FTE share of 3.46% (in the direct effect) and at 4.58% below the FTE share of 5.08% (in the total effect), which suggests that wage income is below average. Annual wages and salaries average £37,084 per year for characteristic goods and £41,325 for connected goods. The UK average annual income for all sectors is £44,565, around 20% higher than for characteristic sports goods and 8% higher than for connected goods.

Figure 6.13: Sport-related wages and salaries in the UK, characteristic and connected goods, 2021, £bn

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

In sectors associated with active sports, the direct share of wages and salaries accounts for just over 90% (£31.5 billion out of £34.8 billion), which is lower than the employment rate in full-time equivalents (FTEs) at 93.8%. This discrepancy is due to significantly higher average wages in sectors classified as passive sports, such as computer programming, publishing, broadcasting, and betting and gambling. The average personnel expenditure per FTE is £38,229 in active sports (£31.5 billion across 824,029 FTEs) and £60,721 in passive sports (£3.3 billion across 54,083 FTEs). When indirect effects are considered, the average wages and salaries in passive sports decrease to £52,607 (£5.8 billion across 109,701 FTEs) but remain considerably higher than in active sports, where the average is £39,010 (£46.0 billion across 1,178,280 FTEs).

Figure 6.14: Sport-related wages and salaries in the UK, active and passive sports, 2021, £bn.

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

6.6. Final consumption of domestic sport goods and services

Final consumption is characterised by the fact that households consume a product without further transforming it, meaning it is not used as an input in the production process of other goods. Examples include purchasing a ticket for a sporting event or jogging shoes. Similar to how intermediate consumption is excluded, exports and investments are also not included in this category. This analysis specifically focuses on the consumption of domestically produced goods and services, excluding imports.

Additionally, as is typical in the System of National Accounts, the domestic principle is applied, meaning that all consumption expenditure by private households within the UK is counted. Therefore, spending by UK residents on sports abroad is excluded, whereas spending by foreign sports tourists in the UK is included. For instance, if foreign sports tourists stay overnight in the UK, their expenditure is counted as domestic consumption, even though it is paid for by non-residents. Since the service is provided within the UK, it is considered part of domestic consumption in this analysis rather than being classified as an export.

According to the calculations, approximately £30.5 bn falls under the definition of sports consumption in the UK, representing around 2.30% of total consumption. This share is slightly lower than the gross value-added share of 2.63%. The difference may be due to the fact that sports-related final consumption products tend to be less GVA-intensive compared to exported goods or investment products. Furthermore, imported goods are not included in this analysis. When imports are factored in, the total value rises to £55.4 billion, or 4.18% of total consumer spending. This figure significantly exceeds the value of sports-related products produced domestically, highlighting the importance of imported goods, particularly clothing, shoes, and sporting equipment, for the UK sports market.

The highest expenditure is on sports services, as defined in the characteristic category. At just under £10.5 bn, this accounts for over a third of all sports-related spending. Nearly £6.1 billion is spent on retail (including sporting goods and spending by sports tourists), £2.3 billion on restaurants, catering, and similar services, approximately £1.7 billion on media rights (TV, streaming, etc.), and just over £1.6 billion on physical education. Together, these five categories make up around £25.9 billion, which constitutes over 72% of total sports expenditure. The remaining sectors with over £1 billion in final consumption are sports betting, with just under £1.6 billion, rental of movables (mainly sports equipment), and hotel services, each contributing slightly over £1.0 billion.

When distinguishing between characteristic and connected sectors, the value for the former stands at £12.1 billion, while the latter amounts to £18.4 billion. As a result, the core sports business, including services and sports training, is about a third smaller in terms of final consumption than the non-characteristic sectors. However, this should not be confused with active and passive sporting activities. For instance, the production of sporting goods, which supports active sport, is classified under the connected sectors, as no sport is directly practised within this sector itself.

Considering all sectors identified as active in the Vilnius definition, total consumption amounts to £27.0 billion, whereas £3.5 billion is attributed to passive sports. Therefore, spending on goods for active sports is nearly eight times higher than for passive sports. The largest contributors to passive consumption are media rights (£1.7 billion) and sports betting (£1.6 billion).

7. National results

The figures for output, gross value added, and employment shown for the UK in Chapter 6 can also be calculated at national level - separately for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The basis for this is a multinational input-output table (MNIOT), which is combined with the national sport satellite accounts. While employment can be allocated to the exact national level in which the good or service is produced, gross value added (at least in part, particularly with regard to profits) must take into account that this is usually allocated to the headquarters in the case of companies with several sites, which can lead to slight distortions.

In the following sections, the results are presented in the same way as the UK results. A summary of all national results can be found in the factsheets in the Appendix 1.

7.1 Productivity estimates

For the estimation of the national results the starting point was the employment data per CPA code per nation, which was sufficient to map the national economies (overall, not just sport) in terms of industrial activity and employment. This is a similar process to the one followed at UK level, however in this case we have an extra complication when ‘moving’ from employment to GVA per CPA code, as it is likely that the four nations may have different productivities which should be taken into account.

The estimated productivity index gives an indication of how much GVA is produced per unit of employment. This figure is calculated in a separate Excel model, which has been made available, using the previously produced MNIOT table. Table 7.1 below is an extract from the model and shows the derivation of productivity for each sector and for each nation.

The pink matrix presents the derived productivity values. For instance, in the first row (CPA 13, textiles), productivity in England is calculated as £80,022. This is determined by the formula: GVA value (£3,641) * 1 million / employment value (45,500) = £80,022.

This indicates that in this particular economic activity (CPA 13) in England, each worker generates £80,022 in GVA. The same approach is applied to each CPA code and each nation. As anticipated, productivity figures for England closely align with the overall UK figures, while other nations may show significant variation depending on their local characteristics.

The derived productivity percentages are then used to weight the employment shares (per activity and nation). This process helps to distribute the UK GVA among the home nations at the best possible level of detail. One problem to be negotiated is that because we use two-digit code productivity weights on four-digit activities, the national GVA figures are unlikely to add up to the UK four-digit code GVA. This anomaly was adjusted in a pragmatic way (by multiplying the national figures with an adjustment factor, which is calculated as the quotient of the known UK value for the 4-digit code GVA and the sum of the national 4-digit code GVA values) so that the ‘adding up to the UK’ principle was respected.

Table 7.1. Estimation of productivity (selection of CPA categories)

CPA	Product	Scotland GVA	Scotland Employment	Wales GVA	Wales Employment	Northern Ireland GVA	Northern Ireland Employment	England GVA	England GVA	Productivity (GVA/Employment) S	Productivity (GVA/Employment) W	Productivity (GVA/Employment) NI	Productivity (GVA/Employment) E	Productivity % of UK average S	Productivity % of UK average W	Productivity % of UK average NI	Productivity % of UK average E
C13	Textiles	336	6,000	130	1,250	171	2,716	3,641	45,500	56,000	104,000	62,960	80,022	72.6%	134.8%	81.6%	103.8%
C14	Wearing apparel	197	2,500	26	650	109	898	1,640	18,000	78,800	40,000	121,381	91,111	88.1%	44.7%	135.7%	101.9%
C15	Leather and related products	34	700	6	25	1	21	314	6,180	48,571	240,000	47,619	50,809	94.8%	468.2%	92.9%	99.1%
C17	Paper and paper products	283	4,500	306	3,000	143	2,056	3,379	42,725	62,889	102,000	69,553	79,087	80.0%	129.7%	88.5%	100.6%
C18	Printing and recording services	215	3,000	220	2,500	76	1,203	4,049	67,000	71,667	88,000	63,175	60,433	115.8%	142.2%	102.1%	97.7%
C21	Basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations	1,323	3,500	660	2,000	249	2,884	13,339	32,600	378,000	330,000	86,338	409,172	99.5%	86.9%	22.7%	107.7%
C22	Rubber and plastic products	448	8,000	424	11,000	321	5,628	7,449	129,500	56,000	38,545	57,036	57,521	99.9%	68.7%	101.7%	102.6%
C26	Computer, electronic and optical products	1,131	11,000	810	8,000	524	3,985	9,809	89,500	102,818	101,250	131,493	109,598	94.2%	92.8%	120.5%	100.4%
C27	Electrical equipment	358	3,500	374	3,500	279	2,480	4,988	57,500	102,286	106,857	112,500	86,748	114.2%	119.3%	125.6%	96.9%
C28	Machinery and equipment n.e.c.	1,080	9,000	558	4,000	634	8,016	14,873	143,500	120,000	139,500	79,092	103,645	115.1%	133.9%	75.9%	99.5%
C29	Motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers	182	3,500	551	9,000	171	2,749	12,861	146,500	52,000	61,222	62,204	87,788	61.1%	71.9%	73.1%	103.2%
C31	Furniture	110	2,500	224	4,000	165	3,434	4,497	83,500	44,000	56,000	48,049	53,856	82.3%	104.7%	89.9%	100.7%
C32	Other manufactured goods	319	5,000	513	6,000	109	1,621	4,630	76,000	63,800	85,500	67,242	60,921	101.5%	136.0%	107.0%	96.9%
C41-43	Construction	8,313	158,000	4,129	61,000	3,383	37,156	105,108	1,352,000	52,614	67,689	91,049	77,743	70.0%	90.0%	121.1%	103.4%
G45	Wholesale and retail trade and repair services of motor vehicles and motorcycles	1,796	44,000	1,180	25,000	691	13,617	24,767	472,000	40,818	47,200	50,745	52,472	79.6%	92.1%	99.0%	102.3%
G46	Wholesale trade services, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles	4,269	66,000	1,647	30,000	2,363	27,312	77,231	988,000	64,682	54,900	86,519	78,169	84.1%	71.3%	112.4%	101.6%
G47	Retail trade services, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles	7,853	261,000	3,955	140,000	3,944	89,807	85,831	2,464,000	30,088	28,250	43,916	34,834	87.5%	82.2%	127.7%	101.3%
I55	Accommodation services	1,164	44,000	550	23,000	250	11,070	10,193	325,000	26,455	23,913	22,584	31,363	87.7%	79.3%	74.9%	104.0%
I56	Food and beverage serving services	2,750	152,000	1,354	82,000	842	39,245	31,579	1,712,000	18,092	16,512	21,455	18,446	98.3%	89.7%	116.6%	100.3%
J58	Publishing services	311	4,500	70	900	52	1,047	12,177	115,000	69,111	77,778	49,666	105,887	66.6%	74.9%	47.8%	102.0%
P85	Education services	10,151	217,000	4,630	113,000	2,294	74,155	111,717	2,310,000	46,779	40,973	30,935	48,362	98.6%	86.3%	65.2%	101.9%
R90	Creative, arts and entertainment services	262	5,000	72	3,500	27	940	7,819	92,000	52,400	20,571	28,723	84,989	65.0%	25.5%	35.6%	105.4%
R92	Gambling and betting services	572	7,000	141	3,000	159	2,185	4,202	66,500	81,714	47,000	72,769	63,188	126.7%	72.9%	112.8%	98.0%
R93	Sports services and amusement and recreation services	830	38,000	420	21,000	185	9,064	10,214	397,000	21,842	20,000	20,410	25,728	87.2%	79.8%	81.5%	102.7%

7.2 Output

Figure 7.1 and Table 7.2 show that the direct effects are highest in England, with £87.0 bn and a share of 87.4% of total economic output in the UK. This figure is followed by Scotland with £6.7 bn and a share of 6.7% and Wales with £3.6 bn or 3.6%. Northern Ireland accounting for the smallest share of 2.3% of the UK’s sports-related output corresponds to £2.3 bn. These figures beside reflecting the sport economies, correspond to the sizes of economies in question.

Figure 7.1: Sport-related output at the national level, 2021, £bn

	direct	indirect	total
England	87.0	54.0	141.0
Scotland	6.7	3.7	10.4
Wales	3.6	2.2	5.8
Northern Ireland	2.3	1.6	3.8

Source: Sheffield Hallam University

England also has the highest overall effect, i.e. including the effects in the upstream value chain, with 87.5%. Further results include Scotland with 6.5 % or £10.4 bn, Wales with 3.6%, (equivalent to £5.8 bn) and Northern Ireland with 2.4% or £3.8 bn.

Table 7.2: Sport-related output by nations, 2021, £bn

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	£bn	share	£bn	share	£bn	share
England	87.0	87.4%	54.0	87.8%	141.0	87.5%	1.62
Scotland	6.7	6.7%	3.7	6.1%	10.4	6.5%	1..55
Wales	3.6	3.6%	2.2	3.6%	5.8	3.6%	1.61
Northern Ireland	2.3	2.3%	1.6	2.5%	3.8	2.4%	1.65
TOTAL (UK)	99.6	100%	61.5	100%	161.1	100%	1.62

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

Figure 7.2: Output multipliers and sport-related shares on output at national level, direct and total, 2021

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

Sport in Northern Ireland represents a significant share of national output, contributing 2.69% to the direct effect and 4.44% to the total effect. It is followed by Wales with a direct share of 2.63% and a total effect of 4.23%. In England, sport contributes 2.53% to the direct effect of total output, increasing to 4.09% when considering the total effect. For Scotland, these shares are 2.44% and 3.78%, respectively. The comparatively lower output multiplier in Scotland, compared to England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, can be attributed to higher import ratios. However, the particularly low share of manufacturing sectors in Scotland’s sport-relevant output, at 15.3%, is noteworthy. In contrast, these shares are significantly higher in England (19.1%), Wales (30.3%), and Northern Ireland (47.2%). Since manufacturing sectors typically require more intermediate inputs than service sectors, Scotland’s lower multiplier is unsurprising.

Figure 7.3: Active and passive sports by nation, output direct and total, 2021

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

As with the UK results, the shares of sport attributed to active and passive sports should also be displayed at the national level. For the direct effect, passive sports’ share ranges from 3.6% in Wales to 13.6% in England. When indirect effects are included, these shares rise to 3.2% in Wales and 14.3% in England

The national variations in the economic importance of sport, as reflected in sport shares, are not solely due to differing participation rates or varying levels of public affinity for sports. Economic structures, many of which have evolved over time, play a significant role in explaining these differences. Even a preliminary overview shows substantial variation in the distribution between manufacturing sectors (goods) and service sectors across different nations. As the following figure illustrates, the share of services in sports-related output ranges from 66% in Northern Ireland to 84.5% in Scotland, which in itself accounts for some of these disparities.

Figure 7.4: Distribution of output to manufacturing and service sectors, by nation, in %, 2021

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The following illustration offers a more detailed view of the sport-related sectors each nation prioritises: the darker the cells, the higher the share of a sector in sport-related output. The figure highlights the significance of characteristic goods across all nations, with sport services being particularly prominent in Scotland, accounting for 18.9% of sport-related output. Sport-related education also plays an important role, with shares ranging from 7.7% in Northern Ireland to 13.7% in Wales.

Table 7.3: Sectoral shares of sport-related output, by nation, in %, 2021

OUTPUT	Scotland	Wales	Northern Ireland	England
Sports services (93.1)	18.9%	12.3%	12.4%	14.9%
Education services (85)	11.9%	13.7%	7.7%	13.2%
Agriculture (01)	0.2%	0.6%	4.9%	1.0%
Food products (10)	0.3%	0.5%	1.5%	0.6%
Beverages (11)	0.1%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
Textiles (13)	0.2%	1.1%	0.3%	0.2%
Wearing apparel (14)	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%
Leather and leather products (15)	0.1%	0.7%	0.0%	0.6%
Coke, petroleum products, chemical products (19-20)	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Pharmaceutical products (21)	0.4%	1.5%	0.4%	1.0%
Rubber and plastic products (22)	0.9%	0.6%	1.3%	0.2%
Metal products (25)	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%
Computer, electronic and optical products (26)	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Machinery and equipment (28)	1.4%	1.6%	2.2%	0.8%
Motor vehicles (29)	0.5%	1.9%	1.1%	3.5%
Other transport equipment (30)	1.9%	6.5%	3.0%	3.2%
Other manufactured goods  (32)	2.1%	5.8%	0.4%	1.3%
Repair/Installation service of machinery (33)	1.7%	2.9%	0.5%	0.8%
Construction (41-43)	5.7%	6.7%	11.2%	6.3%
Trade of motor vehicles (45)	1.5%	2.4%	3.2%	1.9%
Wholesale (46)	3.0%	3.0%	4.8%	3.4%
Retail (47)	6.4%	10.7%	13.1%	7.6%
Land transport services (49)	2.7%	1.3%	2.2%	1.8%
Water transport services (50)	0.1%	0.1%	0.6%	0.1%
Air transport services (51)	0.3%	0.0%	0.0%	0.2%
Warehousing, support services for transportation (52)	0.5%	0.5%	0.3%	0.5%
Accomodation services (55)	4.8%	4.9%	1.6%	3.0%
Food and beverage serving services (56)	3.5%	3.5%	4.8%	3.2%
Publishing services (58)	0.9%	0.3%	0.6%	1.8%
TV, Music, Broadcasting (59-60)	5.8%	0.9%	0.9%	7.1%
Compuiter programming (62)	0.8%	0.4%	0.2%	1.3%
Information services (63)	0.4%	0.4%	0.2%	0.5%
Insurance (65)	0.9%	0.5%	0.2%	0.6%
Legal services (69.1)	0.4%	0.1%	0.3%	0.4%
Accounting, bookkeeping etc. (69.2)	0.2%	0.2%	0.1%	0.2%
Services of head offices (70)	0.2%	0.2%	0.5%	0.4%
Architectural and engineering services (71)	0.5%	0.2%	0.2%	0.5%
Scientific research (72)	0.8%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%
Advertising and market research (73)	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%
Professional, scientific and technical services (74)	0.3%	0.4%	0.2%	0.6%
Rental and leasing services (77)	1.5%	2.4%	1.4%	3.9%
Travel agency (79)	1.4%	0.3%	0.2%	0.7%
Services to buildings and landscapes (81)	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%
Public administration (84)	4.8%	1.2%	4.9%	2.6%
Education services (85)	0.9%	0.7%	0.2%	0.6%
Human Health services (86)	4.6%	4.9%	4.8%	3.5%
Libraries, museums, cultural services (91)	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Gambling and betting services (92)	3.2%	1.7%	5.1%	2.9%
Sports services (93)	2.6%	1.2%	0.9%	1.2%
Membership organisations (94)	0.2%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%
Repair services (95)	0.1%	0.3%	0.0%	0.2%
Other personal services (96)	0.2%	0.1%	0.3%	0.1%

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

7.3 Gross value added

As with output, the majority of sport-related gross value added is also generated in England: with £46.7 bn directly and £72.6 bn in total, England accounts for more than 87% of gross value added in sport in the UK.

Figure 7.5: Sport-related gross value added at the national level, 2021, £bn.

	direct	indirect	total
England	46.7	25.9	72.6
Scotland	3.8	1.9	5.7
Wales	1.9	1.0	2.9
Northern Ireland	1.2	0.7	1.9

Source Sheffield Hallam University.

It is followed in second place by Scotland, which accounts for £3.8 bn directly and a total of £5.7 bn. Scotland thus contributes a share of around 7%. In Wales, the direct gross value added contribution amounts to £1.9 bn. Including the effects in the upstream value chain, this increases to £2.9 bn. Wales thus makes a contribution of 3.6%, both directly and in total.

Due to its size, Northern Ireland accounts for the smallest share of sport-related gross value added in the UK: here, the direct gross value added contribution is £1.2 bn, which corresponds to a share of 2.3% of the UK value. With £0.7 bn in indirect effects, this amount increases to a total of £1.9 bn. Measured against the UK’s total gross value added, this corresponds to a share of 2.4%.

Table 7.4: Sport-related gross value added by nations, 2021, £bn

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	£bn	share	£bn	share	£bn	share
England	46.7	87.1%	25.9	87.6%	72.6	87.3%	1.55
Scotland	3.8	7.0%	1.9	6.4%	5.7	6.8%	1.50
Wales	1.9	3.6%	1.0	3.5%	2.9	3.6%	1.53
Northern Ireland	1.2	2.3%	0.7	2.5%	1.9	2.4%	1.58
TOTAL (UK)	53.6	100%	29.5	100%	83.1	100%	1.55

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

As a proportion of national economic performance, the direct gross value added share of sport is highest in Wales at 2.73%. Including the indirect effects, Wales has a sport-related gross value-added share of 4.32%. In England, the direct gross value-added share of sport is 2.65%, with an overall effect of 4.12%. With a direct share of 2.62% and a total share of 4.37%, sport is particularly important in Northern Ireland. The shares are comparatively lowest in Scotland, with a direct gross value added share of 2.53%, rising to 3.73% including the upstream effects. As previously discussed in the chapter on output, Scotland’s comparatively low gross value-added multiplier can also be attributed to the low representation of manufacturing sectors within its sport-related economy.

Figure 7.6: GVA multipliers and sport-related shares on GVA at national level, direct and total, 2021

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The direct and total gross value-added contributions from sport can also be calculated at the national level, distinguishing between active and passive sports. The analysis shows that the share of active sport, based on direct effects, is highest in Northern Ireland at 96.0%, followed by Wales at 95.6%, Scotland at 89.6% and England at 88.2%. Both Northern Ireland and Wales are well above the UK average of 89%. When considering total effects, 96.2% of the GVA in Wales is attributable to active sport, while Northern Ireland stands at 93.6%, Scotland at 89.2%, and England at 86.7%. With the exception of England, all nations exceed the UK average of 87%.

Figure 7.7: Active and passive sports by nation, GVA direct and total, 2021

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

If we examine the distribution of sport-related gross value added between manufacturing and service sectors, as we did previously for output, it becomes clear that service sectors contribute more significantly to value-added. This is expected, given that services typically require fewer intermediate inputs, and their import ratios are generally lower. Consequently, the share of service sectors rises to as much as 88% in Scotland. On the other hand, Northern Ireland has the highest share of manufacturing sectors, at 23.1%.

Figure 7.8: Distribution of gross value added to manufacturing and service sectors, by nation, in %, 2021

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The following Table offers a more detailed view of the sport-related sectors each nation prioritises, from the perspective of GVA: the darker the cells, the higher the share of a sector in sport-related GVA. The Table highlights the significance of characteristic goods across all nations in the top two rows, with sport services being particularly prominent in Scotland, accounting for 17.3% of sport-related output. Sport-related education also plays an important role, with shares ranging from 11.1% in Northern Ireland to 17.7% in England.

Table 7.5: Sectoral shares of sport-related gross value added, by nation, in %, 2021

GROSS VALUE ADDED	Scotland	Wales	Northern Ireland	England
Sports services (93.1)	17.3%	15.1%	12.6%	16.8%
Education services (85)	16.1%	16.5%	11.1%	17.7%
Agriculture (01)	0.1%	0.3%	2.7%	0.8%
Food products (10)	0.1%	0.3%	0.6%	0.3%
Beverages (11)	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%
Textiles (13)	0.2%	0.6%	0.2%	0.2%
Wearing apparel (14)	0.2%	0.1%	0.2%	0.4%
Leather and leather products (15)	0.1%	0.4%	0.0%	0.1%
Coke, petroleum products, chemical products (19-20)	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Pharmaceutical products (21)	0.6%	1.0%	0.2%	0.9%
Rubber and plastic products (22)	0.6%	0.4%	0.8%	0.1%
Metal products (25)	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Computer, electronic and optical products (26)	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Machinery and equipment (28)	0.9%	1.0%	1.2%	0.6%
Motor vehicles (29)	0.4%	1.1%	0.7%	1.7%
Other transport equipment (30)	0.6%	4.0%	1.3%	2.3%
Other manufactured goods  (32)	2.0%	3.6%	0.4%	1.2%
Repair/Installation service of machinery (33)	1.8%	1.8%	0.6%	0.6%
Construction (41-43)	4.3%	5.8%	8.5%	4.4%
Trade of motor vehicles (45)	1.7%	2.4%	2.8%	1.9%
Wholesale (46)	2.7%	2.9%	5.2%	3.2%
Retail (47)	7.9%	10.4%	17.7%	8.7%
Land transport services (49)	2.1%	1.3%	2.1%	1.6%
Water transport services (50)	0.1%	0.1%	0.7%	0.1%
Air transport services (51)	-0.2%	0.0%	0.0%	-0.1%
Warehousing, support services for transportation (52)	0.5%	0.5%	0.4%	0.5%
Accomodation services (55)	5.7%	6.0%	2.2%	3.2%
Food and beverage serving services (56)	3.7%	4.2%	5.0%	3.1%
Publishing services (58)	1.0%	0.4%	0.6%	1.8%
TV, Music, Broadcasting (59-60)	4.5%	1.0%	0.8%	5.5%
Compuiter programming (62)	1.0%	0.4%	0.3%	1.3%
Information services (63)	0.5%	0.5%	0.2%	0.5%
Insurance (65)	0.6%	0.6%	0.1%	0.5%
Legal services (69.1)	0.6%	0.1%	0.4%	0.5%
Accounting, bookkeeping etc. (69.2)	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%
Services of head offices (70)	0.2%	0.2%	0.7%	0.3%
Architectural and engineering services (71)	0.5%	0.2%	0.2%	0.4%
Scientific research (72)	0.7%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%
Advertising and market research (73)	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Professional, scientific and technical services (74)	0.3%	0.5%	0.4%	0.4%
Rental and leasing services (77)	1.6%	2.9%	2.2%	4.6%
Travel agency (79)	1.0%	0.3%	0.2%	0.5%
Services to buildings and landscapes (81)	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%
Public administration (84)	4.6%	1.4%	6.9%	2.7%
Education services (85)	1.2%	0.9%	0.3%	0.8%
Human Health services (86)	5.1%	5.9%	4.8%	4.0%
Libraries, museums, cultural services (91)	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Gambling and betting services (92)	3.4%	2.0%	2.1%	2.7%
Sports services (93)	2.4%	1.5%	0.9%	1.3%
Membership organisations (94)	0.2%	0.1%	0.3%	0.2%
Repair services (95)	0.1%	0.4%	0.0%	0.2%
Other personal services (96)	0.3%	0.2%	0.4%	0.2%

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

7.4 Employment

The employment figures for England show slightly lower shares than in output or gross value added: with 1,064,770 headcount employment, these are at 85.2% of the UK in the direct effect, and 1,494,379 jobs at 85.6% in the total effect. This finding can be attributed to the fact that the proportion of particularly high gross value-added sectors in England is above average and/or that employment in England is comparatively more productive. The latter can only be confirmed with any degree of authority by looking at full-time equivalent jobs.

Figure 7.9 Sport-related employment at the national level, 2021, headcount

	direct	indirect	total
England	1,064,770	429,609	1,494,379
Scotland	99,660	33,957	133,617
Wales	54,887	20,157	75,044
Northern Ireland	30,214	12,870	43,084

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

England is followed by Scotland with 99,660 direct headcount employment, which corresponds to a share of 8.0% of the equivalent UK employment. Including indirect effects, the size of employment increases to 133,617, which corresponds to a share of 7.6%.

Table 7.6: Sport-related employment by nations, 2021, headcount

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	Jobs	share	Jobs	share	Jobs	share
England	1,064,770	85.2%	429,609	86.5%	1,494,379	85.6%	1.40
Scotland	99,660	8.0%	33,957	6.8%	133,617	7.6%	1.34
Wales	54,887	4.4%	20,157	4.1%	75,044	4.3%	1.37
Northern Ireland	30,214	2.4%	12,870	2.6%	43,084	2.5%	1.43
TOTAL (UK)	1,249,531	100%	496,593	100%	1,746,124	100%	1.40

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

In Wales, 54,887 people are employed in sport; if the indirect jobs created are also included, 75,044 people in Wales are directly or indirectly employed in sport. As a proportion of the UK, this corresponds to 4.4% in the direct effect and 4.3% in the total effect (see Table 7.4 above).

A total of 43,084 jobs - equivalent to 2.5% of the UK total - are directly or indirectly attributed to sport in Northern Ireland.

Figure 7.10: Employment multipliers and sport-related shares on employment (headcount) on national level, direct and total, 2021

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

Wales leads the four nations in sports-related employment, with a direct share of 4.03%. England follows closely with 3.89%, while Scotland and Northern Ireland each have a share of 3.81%. The broader impact further highlights the significance of sport in Wales, where 5.50% of all employment is directly or indirectly linked to the sports sector. England is nearly on par with 5.47%, followed by Northern Ireland at 5.43%, and Scotland, which has the smallest share at 5.1%.

Figure 7.11: Distribution of employment to manufacturing and service sectors, by nation, in %, 2021

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

As with the previous analysis of gross value added, national employment effects can also be broken down into active and passive sports. It becomes evident that, while the differences between nations are smaller for employment than for gross value added, passive sports are consistently less employment-intensive but more value-added-intensive across all nations. The share of active sports in direct employment ranges from 94.6% in England to 97.1% in Northern Ireland. When including indirect effects, the share of employment from passive sports rises to 8.0% in England, with Wales recording the lowest at 3.9%.

The fact that service sectors tend to be more employment-intensive, while production sectors are more capital-intensive, is clearly illustrated by the following figure. The share of service sectors in sports-related employment reaches as high as 93.5% in Wales and 86.2% in Northern Ireland. A high direct employment effect combined with low intermediate consumption results in relatively small employment multipliers. It is therefore notable that all nations, despite these circumstances, still exhibit an employment multiplier that aligns with typical expectations for service sectors.

Figure 7.12: Active and passive sports by nation, employment (headcounts), direct and total, 2021

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The following Table offers a more detailed view of the sport-related sectors each nation prioritises, from the perspective of employment: as before, the darker the cells, the higher the share of a sector in sport-related employment. The Table highlights the significance of characteristic goods across all nations in the top two rows, with sport services being particularly prominent in Scotland, accounting for 29.9% of sport-related output. Sport-related education also plays an important role, with shares ranging from 13% in Scotland and to 16.1% in England.

Table 7.7: Sectoral shares of sport-related employment (head-counts), by nation, in %, 2021

EMPLOYMENT	Scotland	Wales	Northern Ireland	England
Sports services (93.1)	29.9%	26.4%	24.8%	28.7%
Education services (85)	13.0%	14.1%	14.5%	16.1%
Agriculture (01)	0.1%	0.6%	1.7%	1.2%
Food products (10)	0.1%	0.2%	0.5%	0.3%
Beverages (11)	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Textiles (13)	0.1%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
Wearing apparel (14)	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%
Leather and leather products (15)	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%
Coke, petroleum products, chemical products (19-20)	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Pharmaceutical products (21)	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Rubber and plastic products (22)	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%	0.1%
Metal products (25)	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Computer, electronic and optical products (26)	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Machinery and equipment (28)	0.2%	0.2%	0.5%	0.2%
Motor vehicles (29)	0.3%	0.7%	0.4%	0.8%
Other transport equipment (30)	0.5%	1.0%	0.7%	1.1%
Other manufactured goods  (32)	1.2%	1.5%	0.3%	0.8%
Repair/Installation service of machinery (33)	0.7%	0.8%	0.3%	0.5%
Construction (41-43)	2.7%	2.7%	3.3%	2.3%
Trade of motor vehicles (45)	1.6%	1.7%	2.2%	1.6%
Wholesale (46)	1.6%	1.8%	2.4%	1.8%
Retail (47)	9.9%	12.9%	16.3%	11.0%
Land transport services (49)	2.1%	1.4%	1.8%	1.9%
Water transport services (50)	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.0%
Air transport services (51)	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%
Warehousing, support services for transportation (52)	0.4%	0.5%	0.3%	0.5%
Accomodation services (55)	7.3%	7.7%	2.5%	4.6%
Food and beverage serving services (56)	7.8%	8.9%	9.3%	7.5%
Publishing services (58)	0.5%	0.2%	0.5%	0.7%
TV, Music, Broadcasting (59-60)	1.7%	1.7%	0.8%	1.9%
Compuiter programming (62)	0.6%	0.4%	0.2%	0.8%
Information services (63)	0.3%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%
Insurance (65)	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%
Legal services (69.1)	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
Accounting, bookkeeping etc. (69.2)	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Services of head offices (70)	0.3%	0.4%	0.9%	0.5%
Architectural and engineering services (71)	0.5%	0.2%	0.3%	0.4%
Scientific research (72)	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Advertising and market research (73)	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Professional, scientific and technical services (74)	0.3%	0.4%	0.3%	0.3%
Rental and leasing services (77)	0.5%	0.9%	0.9%	1.1%
Travel agency (79)	0.4%	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%
Services to buildings and landscapes (81)	0.8%	0.6%	0.5%	0.8%
Public administration (84)	2.6%	0.8%	4.2%	1.6%
Education services (85)	0.9%	0.7%	0.4%	0.7%
Human Health services (86)	3.7%	4.2%	3.8%	3.7%
Libraries, museums, cultural services (91)	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Gambling and betting services (92)	1.6%	1.5%	1.1%	1.9%
Sports services (93)	4.1%	2.6%	1.8%	2.3%
Membership organisations (94)	0.3%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%
Repair services (95)	0.0%	0.3%	0.0%	0.2%
Other personal services (96)	0.2%	0.1%	0.3%	0.2%

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

7.5 Full time equivalent employment

A look at the full-time equivalent jobs shows that the structures between the nations do not differ significantly: the proportion of FTEs measured in terms of headcount is highest in Northern Ireland at 70.8%, followed by England at 70.3%, Wales at 69.9% and Scotland at 69.6%. This finding means that there is hardly any shift in the shares in the direct employment effects. With 749,002 FTEs, England has the highest share at 85.3%, followed by Scotland with 69.380 or 7.9%. This is followed by Wales with 38,345 (4.4%) and Northern Ireland with 21,384 FTEs (2.4%).

Two nations stand out in the indirect effects: England is comparatively low with a share of 83.7%, whereas Scotland is particularly high with a share of 8.4%. Accordingly, England’s share in the total effect is reduced to 84.8% with 1,091,989 FTEs, followed by Scotland with 8.0% (103,067 FTEs), Wales with 4.6% (58,997 FTEs) and Northern Ireland with 2.6% (33,387 FTEs).

Figure 7.13: Sport-related employment at the national level, 2021, FTE

	direct	indirect	total
England	749,002	342,987	1,091,989
Scotland	69,380	34,227	103,607
Wales	38,345	20,652	58,997
Northern Ireland	21,384	12,003	33,387

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

Productivity, calculated as the quotient of direct gross value added and direct employment effect (in FTE), is - as already assumed in this chapter - above average for England: at £62,350, the gross value added generated per full-time equivalent is 26% higher than in Wales, where productivity is lowest at £49,550. Scotland is between these two values at £54,771, likewise Northern Ireland at £56,117.

Table 7.8: Sport-related employment by nations, 2021, FTE

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	FTE	share	FTE	share	FTE	share
England	749,002	85.3%	342,987	83.7%	1,091.989	84.8	1.46
Scotland	69,380	7.9%	34,227	8.4%	103,607	8.0	1.49
Wales	38,345	4.4%	20,652	5.0%	58,997	4.6	1.54
Northern Ireland	21,384	2.4%	12,003	2.9%	33,387	2.6	1.56
TOTAL (UK)	878,111	100%	409,869	100%	1,287,980	100%	1.47

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

In comparison, the proportion of sport-related employment is very similar in all four nations, ranging from 3.37% in Scotland to 3.57% in Wales (England: 3.47%, Northern Ireland: 3.43%).

Figure 7.14 Employment multipliers (FTE) and sport-related shares on employment (FTE) at national level, direct and total, 2021

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

Figure 7.15 Active and passive sport by nation, FTEs, direct and total, 2021

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The breakdown of active and passive sports reveals a similar pattern for full-time equivalent (FTE) employment across all nations as seen in the headcount employment effects. Once again, the direct share of passive sport is lowest in Northern Ireland at 3.4% and highest in England at 6.4%. When considering the total effect, Wales has the lowest share of passive sport at 4.0%, while England records the highest at 8.9%. As the differences in the breakdown between production and service sectors, as well as the national characteristics, show minimal variation compared to the previously presented employment headcount results, they will not be repeated here.

7.6 Final consumption of domestic sport goods and services

The same definition of final consumption is applied here as in the section on sport-related consumption across the UK. The domestic principle still applies, excluding intermediate consumption, investments, and exports. To ensure that the total consumption values for the four nations match the overall UK figure, internal UK deliveries are factored into the calculations. For example, if an English household purchases a golf club from Scotland, this transaction is captured in the data in this section. As previously noted, this does not apply to golf clubs imported from abroad.

The distribution of final consumption for sports-related products largely mirrors the general consumption shares across the nations. England accounts for 88.5% of sports-related consumption (compared to 86.5% of general consumption), Northern Ireland for 2.4% (2.4%), Wales for 3.0% (3.6%), and Scotland for 6.1% (7.5%). This suggests a slightly higher tendency for purchasing sports-related products in England, with average or slightly below-average levels in the other three nations. However, these small differences should not be overemphasised

The differences become more pronounced when focusing on characteristic products. England’s share increases to 89.6%, while Northern Ireland’s drops to 1.4%. Wales sees a slight rise to 3.1%, and Scotland’s share decreases to 5.9%. Consequently, the shares of connected products are likely closer to the general consumption distribution.

Table 7.9: Percentage distribution of sport-related consumption across UK Nations, 2021

	General	Sports	Characteristic	Connected
England	86.5%	88.5%	89.6%	87.8%
Scotland	7.5%	6.1%	5.9%	6.3%
Wales	3.6%	3.0%	3.1%	2.9%
Northern Ireland	2.4%	2.4%	1.4%	3.0%
Total (UK)	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The absolute values of sport-related consumption can be seen in the following table.

Table 7.10: Sport-related consumption by nations, 2021, £bn

	Sports	Characteristic	Connected
England	27.0	10.9	16.1
Scotland	1.9	0.7	1.2
Wales	0.9	0.4	0.5
Northern Ireland	0.7	0.2	0.6

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

When examining the strongest sectors, a slight surprise emerges. While sports services clearly dominate in England, Wales, and Scotland, with retail in second place^{[footnote 51]}, these two sectors switch positions in Northern Ireland. The third ranking also varies: restaurants hold this position in England, Scotland, and Wales, whereas in Northern Ireland, hotels take the third spot.

Active sports consumption in the UK accounts for 89%, with national figures hovering around this average. Wales leads with the highest proportion at 93%, while Scotland registers 85%. The main reason for this variation is Scotland’s comparatively high shares in the two major passive sectors—media rights and sports betting—while these sectors contribute less to Wales.

Table 7.11: Active and passive sport consumption by nation, 2021, £bn and % of national sport consumption

	Active	Passive	Share active	Share passive
England	23.9	3.1	89%	11%
Scotland	1.6	0.3	85%	15%
Wales	0.9	0.1	93%	7%
Northern Ireland	0.6	0.1	88%	12%

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

8. Local authority results

The growing interest in small-scale analyses has led this study to explore the economic impact of sport at local authority level. Based on the available data, it is feasible to assess the direct effects of sport. However, evaluating the indirect effects would necessitate a more detailed understanding of the intermediate transactions within local authorities, including interactions with other businesses regionally, nationally, and internationally. As such detailed information is not available at this level, the study focuses exclusively on the direct impact of sport on gross value added, leaving indirect effects unallocated. The results presented align with the ITL3 classification system used in the UK^{[footnote 52]}.

A summary of the results for all local authorities at the can be found - per nation and in alphabetical order - in the Appendix 2 of the study. In the following sections, the impact of sport at the local authority level is presented in two ways:

• first, in terms of its absolute size (GVA of sports, expressed in £m); and
• second in terms of the relative importance of sport (as a percentage of total GVA) to eliminate size effects between the local authorities.

8.1 England

The examined local authorities align with the published data from 2021, which included a larger number of LAs compared to the current list of 296, following the mergers in 2023. At 310, the number of local authorities in England is too large for them to be shown together in one figure. Reference must therefore be made to Appendix 2 and the alphabetical list of results for all local authorities in England contained therein. In this chapter the focus is on the top 20 local authorities.

In terms of absolute gross value-added contributions, the largest share is attributable to

• Westminster (£2.176 m), followed by:
• Camden (£1,689 m),
• Leeds (£773 m),
• Birmingham (£744 m) and
• Manchester (£731 m).

Although these 5 local authorities represent only 1.6% of all local authorities, they account for 13.2% (£6,112 m) of the gross value added generated in England.

This means that these top five local authorities also generate more gross value added than the 100 lowest ranked local authorities in England: these generate only £5,555 m in sport, or 12% of sport-related gross added value in England. Some local authorities such as Manchester and Birmingham have major event hosting facilities and strategies to attract events. They also have a high concentration of professional sports including Manchester United and Manchester City. In the case of Westminster, there is a particularly strong concentration of individual sectors. These include membership organisations, which account for 12.3% of England’s sport-related gross value added in this sector, along with creative, arts, entertainment, and cultural activities (15.6%), head offices (14.4%), and public administration (8.2%). Notably, £505 million of the total £2.191 billion, or 23.0%, is generated by the gambling and betting industry. Similarly, in Camden, 56.0% of the sports-related gross value added, totalling £1.787 billion, is concentrated in three sectors: publishing, film and TV production, and broadcasting contribute £602 million (33.7%), followed by education with £293 million, and betting and gambling with £105 million. When comparing the generated GVA in monetary terms, it is evident that population size significantly influences the local area’s overall output.

Figure 8.1: Sport-related gross value added, Local Authorities in England, 2021, in £m

Southwark	336
Salford	346
Haringey	354
Stoke-on-Trent	365
Sheffield	378
Richmond upon Thames	386
Kensington & Chelsea	404
Bristol, City of	409
Tower Hamlets	413
Buckinghamshire CC	428
West Northamptonshire	473
Milton Keynes	516
Liverpool	537
Hounslow	549
Hammersmith & Fulham	571
Manchester	731
Birmingham	744
Leeds	773
Camden	1,689
Westminster	2,176

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

In terms of sport related shares of GVA, the largest shares are attributed to:

• Stoke-on-Trent with 5.9%,
• Kensington and Chelsea with 4.6%,
• Hammersmith and Fulham with 4.6%,
• Blackpool with 4.4% and
• Dudley with 4.2%

The significant sports-related share of 5.9% in Stoke-on-Trent is largely due to its above-average contribution to England’s gambling and betting industry. Stoke-on-Trent generates 2.5% of the gross value added (GVA) in England in this sector, far surpassing other sectors, which contribute only marginally. For instance, human health activities and telecommunications each account for 0.8%, while the manufacture of petroleum, chemicals, and other minerals contributes 1.2%. In total, £251 million of Stoke-on-Trent’s £367 million sports-related GVA is attributed to gambling and betting, representing a 68.4% share.

Similarly, in Kensington and Chelsea, sports-related GVA of £981 million is concentrated in three sectors. The dominant sector is publishing, film and TV production, and broadcasting, contributing £421 million or 42.9%. This is followed by gambling and betting with £158 million (16.1%), and education, contributing £105 million or 10.7%. Out of the 310 local authorities, 148 have a value exceeding the England average of 2.65%.

Figure 8.2: Sport-related Shares of Gross Value Added, Local Authorities in England, 2021, in %

Milton Keynes	3.5%
Hackney	3.5%
Newham	3.5%
Wolverhampton	3.5%
Salford	3.5%
Trafford	3.5%
Bromley	3.6%
Burnley	3.6%
Hyndburn	3.6%
Pendle	3.6%
Rossendale	3.6%
West Northamptonshire	3.6%
Liverpool	3.8%
Hounslow	4.1%
Richmond upon Thames	4.1%
Dudley	4.2%
Blackpool	4.3%
Hammersmith & Fulham	4.6%
Kensington & Chelsea	4.6%
Stoke-on-Trent	5.9%

Source Sheffield Hallam University.

8.2 Scotland

For Scotland, the gross value-added effects are divided among a total of 30^{[footnote 53]} local authorities. The highest effects are attributable to

• Glasgow City with £669 m,
• the City of Edinburgh with £582 m and
• Aberdeen City with £296 m.

In total, these three local authorities account for £1,546 m and thus almost 41% of the sports-related gross value added in Scotland. Glasgow City alone generates more gross value added in sports than the bottom half of the local authorities in this list.

Figure 8.3 Sport-related gross value added, Local Authorities in Scotland, 2021, in £m

Orkney Islands	11
Na h-Eileanan Siar	14
Shetland Islands	17
East Dunbartonshire	21
Clackmannanshire	31
North Ayrshire mainland	34
Argyll and Bute	46
West Dunbartonshire	46
East Lothian	50
Angus	53
Caithness and Sutherland, and Ross and Cromarty	54
Midlothian	55
Scottish Borders	59
Stirling	62
East Ayrshire	76
Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Arran and Cumbrae, and Argyll and Bute	82
South Ayrshire	86
Dumfries and Galloway	87
Falkirk	106
Perth and Kinross	107
Dundee City	115
West Lothian	121
Aberdeenshire	135
Inverness and Nairn, Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey	144
South Lanarkshire	177
North Lanarkshire	195
Fife	250
Aberdeen City	296
City of Edinburgh	582
Glasgow City	668

Source Sheffield Hallam University.

In terms of the share of GVA, the most important Local Authorities are:

• South Ayrshire with 3.6%,
• Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Arran and Cumbrae, and Argyll and Bute with 3.4% and
• Fife and
• Clackmannanshire with 3.1% each

A total of 17 of the 30 Local Authorities have a score higher than the Scottish average of 2.53.

Figure 8.4 Sport-relevant Shares of Gross Value Added, Local Authorities in Scotland, 2021, in %

Orkney Islands	1.0
Shetland Islands	2.1
City of Edinburgh	2.3
Scottish Borders	2.3
West Lothian	2.3
North Lanarkshire	2.4
Na h-Eileanan Siar	2.4
Perth and Kinross	2.4
Stirling	2.4
Dumfries and Galloway	2.4
Falkirk	2.5
South Lanarkshire	2.5
Caithness and Sutherland, and Ross and Cromarty	2.5
East Ayrshire	2.6
North Ayrshire mainland	2.6
Inverness and Nairn, Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey	2.6
Aberdeen City	2.7
Aberdeenshire	2.7
East Lothian	2.8
Midlothian	2.8
Glasgow City	2.9
Angus	2.9
Dundee City	2.9
Argyll and Bute	2.9
East Dunbartonshire	2.9
West Dunbartonshire	2.9
Clackmannanshire	3.1
Fife	3.1
Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Arran and Cumbrae, and Argyll and Bute	3.4
South Ayrshire	3.6

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

In Scotland, as in other regions, the areas with the highest sport-related GVA are not always the largest or most economically dominant. The highest proportion, 3.6%, is found in South Ayrshire, which accounts for only 1.6% of Scotland’s overall economic output. Despite its smaller size, South Ayrshire achieves above-average sport-related GVA in key sectors such as ‘Other Manufacturing, Repair, and Installation’ (over 8%), ‘Accommodation’ (5.9%), and ‘Manufacture of Textiles, Wearing Apparel, and Leather’ (3%).

Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Arran, and Cumbrae together account for only 1.7% of Scotland’s total economic output. However, these regions generate 2.2% of Scotland’s sports-related GVA, with an internal share of sport GVA at 3.4%. This is largely driven by significant contributions from sectors such as ‘Accommodation’ (11.4% of Scotland’s total), ‘Land, Water, and Air Transport’ (4.1%), ‘Gambling and Betting’ (2.5%), and ‘Retail Trade’ (2.1%). Similarly, Clackmannanshire, which represents just 0.7% of Scotland’s economic output, records an above-average sports share of 3.1%, primarily due to strong contributions from the ‘Gambling and Betting’ and ‘Education’ sectors.

8.3 Wales

For Wales,

• Cardiff (£275 m),
• Swansea (£150 m) and
• Rhondda Cynon Taf (£144 m)

are the three local authorities with the highest value-added contributions from sport, expressed in millions of pounds. Together they account for £569 m, which is just under 30% of the gross value added by sport in Wales.

Figure 8.5: Sport-related gross value added, Local Authorities in Wales, 2021, in £m

Blaenau Gwent	26
Isle of Anglesey	35
Merthyr Tydfil	36
Torfaen	37
Ceredigion	40
Denbighshire	58
Monmouthshire	59
Powys	62
Conwy	69
Caerphilly	71
Pembrokeshire	71
Neath Port Talbot	75
Bridgend	81
Gwynedd	94
Newport	100
Vale of Glamorgan	103
Wrexham	105
Carmarthenshire	110
Flintshire	126
Rhondda Cynon Taf	144
Swansea	150
Cardiff	275

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

A different picture emerges if one focuses on the sport-relevant gross value-added shares and thus ignores size-related effects. Here it can be seen that

• Gwynedd has the highest sport-relevant share with 3.8%, followed by
• Conwy and
• Denbigshire with 3.4% each.

With a total of £94 million, Gwynedd contributes 4.9% of the GVA related to sport in Wales. However, its share of sport within the local authority is above average, driven by the significant contributions from gambling and betting (£23 million), accommodation (£18 million), and education (£17 million). Similarly, the betting and gambling industry is a key factor behind the high proportion of sport-related GVA in Conwy.

Further, three more Local Authorities are found above the 3.0% point:

• Isle of Anglesey with 3.3%,
• Rhondda Cynon Taf and
• Merthyr Tydfil with 3.2% each.

A total of 8 of the 22 local authorities in Wales have a value that is above the average share for Wales of 2.7%. The lowest value-added share of sport is 2.4%.

Figure 8.6: Sport-relevant Shares of Gross Value Added, Local Authorities in Wales, 2021, in %

Blaenau Gwent	2.4
Torfaen	2.4
Caerphilly	2.4
Monmouthshire	2.6
Newport	2.6
Vale of Glamorgan	2.6
Cardiff	2.6
Swansea	2.7
Neath Port Talbot	2.7
Bridgend	2.7
Powys	2.7
Ceredigion	2.7
Pembrokeshire	2.7
Carmarthenshire	2.7
Wrexham	2.8
Flintshire	2.8
Merthyr Tydfil	3.3
Rhondda Cynon Taf	3.3
Isle of Anglesey	3.3
Denbighshire	3.4
Conwy	3.4
Gwynedd	3.8

Source Sheffield Hallam University.

8.4 Northern Ireland

For Northern Ireland, gross value added is allocated to a total of eleven local authorities.

• Belfast with £336 m,
• Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavan with £115 m and
• Mid Ulster with £107 m

have the highest gross value-added contributions. In total, these three local authorities account for £558 m and thus 45% of the sport-related gross value added in Northern Ireland. Belfast alone generates more gross value added (GVA) in sport than the group of five local authorities in Northern Ireland with the lowest GVA in sport. It is important to note, however, that a significant factor contributing to these differences is the population size of the respective local authorities.

Figure 8.7: Sport-related gross value added, Local Authorities in Northern Ireland, 2021, in £m

Mid and East Antrim	65
Ards and North Down	68
Fermanagh and Omagh	71
Causeway Coast and Glens	80
Derry City and Strabane	87
Antrim and Newtownabbey	97
Lisburn and Castlereagh	104
Newry, Mourne and Down	104
Mid Ulster	107
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon	115
Belfast	336

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

In terms of sport-related gross value added,

• Causeway Coast and Glens has the highest direct sport-related share at 3.5%, followed
• by Newry, Mourne and Down at 3.2% and
• Ards and North Down at 3.1%.

A total of 9 of the 11 local authorities have a figure above the Northern Ireland average of 2.62%. Belfast has the lowest gross value-added share of sport at 2.31%.

Figure 8.8: Sport-relevant Shares of Gross Value Added, Local Authorities in Northern Ireland, 2021, in %

Belfast	2.3
Mid and East Antrim	2.6
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon	2.7
Mid Ulster	2.7
Derry City and Strabane	2.7
Fermanagh and Omagh	2.8
Antrim and Newtownabbey	2.8
Lisburn and Castlereagh	2.9
Ards and North Down	3.1
Newry, Mourne and Down	3.2
Causeway Coast and Glens	3.5

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

9. International comparisons

The current analysis has been conducted using the new (under development) Vilnius definition 3, with the major innovation being the division of the total effect into characteristic goods and connected goods. As this is the first study of its kind there is not an exact comparison with other countries. However, the direct effects are comparable with the latest Pan European Accounts (2018)^{[footnote 54]}.

The starting point for comparison is the UK sport share of GVA, which is 4.07% for total effects and 2.63% for direct effects (see Table 9.1 below).

Table 9.1: Sport-related GVA, UK, 2021, £m

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	£m	share	£m	share	£m	share
Characteristic	18,258	0.89 %	6,512	0.32%	24,770	1.21%	1.36
Connected	35,337	1.74%	23,011	1.12%	58,347	2.86%	1.65
TOTAL	53,595	2.63%	29,522	1.44%	83,117	4.07%	1.55

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

By comparing with the Pan European Account, the classification of Figure 9.1 can be derived:

The most sizable sport economy in the EU, at 4.12% of national GDP (direct effect) is Austria, driven mainly by sport tourism and its geographical advantages for winter sports. This is followed by Germany at 3.90% of national GDP, driven mainly by the manufacturing sector in sport. The UK represents the third most important economy in Europe, at 2.63%, driven mainly by the strong presence of the sport clubs, the numbers of sport volunteers and the relative high importance of the golf industry, golf resorts and the football sector. The standing of the UK’s direct impact is above that of the EU (2.12%). Further, it is higher than the number that was recorded in the 2018 EU report increasing from 2.18% in 2012 to 2.63% in 2021, an increase of just below 0.5 percentage points.

Figure 9.1: Ranking table of sport economies in Europe according to national sport GVA %.

Cyprus	1.85%
France	1.91%
EU	2.12%
Poland	2.30%
UK	2.63%
Germany	3.90%
Austria	4.12%

Source: Sheffield Hallam University and Pan European SSA (published in 2018)

The Pan-European SSA has also identified, across the EU, the sectors that drive the sport economy, providing the leading shares in terms of employment and GDP. Table 9.2 below ranks the top three sport related economic sectors according to the UK size of employment.

Table 9.2, Direct employment contributions of 3 top sport related sports

Rank	CPA	Goods and Services	UK size of employment	EU Share of total employment.
1	R93_1	Sport services	387,685 (1.20%)	0.36%
2	P	Education services	196,119 (0.61%)	0.53%
3	G47	Retail trade services, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles	139,203 (0.43%)	0.28%

Source: Sheffield Hallam University and Pan European SSA (published in 2018)

The importance of Table 9.2 is that it corresponds to more than half of the direct impact of the sport industry, both in the case of the UK and the EU. The main difference is that in the UK the most important sector is the sport services, while in the EU the top sector (for direct impact) is the sport related education services. This reflects the disproportionate economic impact of clubs in the UK and the size of the sport volunteering sector. Additionally, sport services in the UK account for 1.2% of total UK employment, compared to 0.36% in the EU. This highlights the significance of sport participation, as well as sports clubs and services, as the primary drivers of the sport economy in the UK.

The current analysis broadly confirms the conclusion that in both the UK and EU the percentage of sport employment is always higher than the percentage of GVA (as illustrated in the presentation of the UK results). The implication is that we have strong UK and European evidence that investment in sport would return more than average returns in employment, making sport, among other things, a policy tool for increasing employment. This can be used by governments in times or recession, or following times of adversity, such as the recent pandemic.

Overall, the estimates of the current report are supported by the UK’s relative position when compared with the EU sport economies. The UK has consistently ranked at the higher end among European countries in terms of the impact of sport on GVA and employment over time. The current analysis also shows considerable growth of almost 0.5 percentage points of the share in GVA over a ten-year period. This growth is fully justified, it can even be shown to be a conservative estimate: In the 2018 report (2012 data) the direct impact of the UK characteristic goods was £9,825m. This has now increased to £18,258m (Table 9.1), an increase of 85%. The equivalent rise in the total direct effect is from £36,750m in 2012 to £53,595m in 2021, an increase of 46%. Therefore, the overall effect is totally supported from the international experience and the documented rise of the characteristic sector, which can be very reliably traced by the sport services and the sport part of education.

10. Conclusions

The current report has shown the economic importance of sport in the UK and has placed it in the international context. The UK sport economy is in terms of direct effect of GVA the third largest in Europe (EU), behind the sport economies of Austria and Germany. Under the new methodology for sport impact (Vilnius 3.0) the economic impact of sport (direct GVA) has reached 2.6% an increase of almost 0.5 percentage points from the traditional levels that were recorded almost ten years ago. Although it is possible that the increase may be attributable to the reviewing methodology, the fact is that it has been driven by the characteristic element of the definition which over less than a decade it has increased by 85% (nominal prices).

Table 10.1: Sport-related GVA, 2021, £m

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	£m	share	£m	share	£m	share
Characteristic	18,258	0.89 %	6,512	0.32%	24,770	1.21%	1.36
Connected	35,337	1.74%	23,011	1.12%	58,347	2.86%	1.65
TOTAL	53,595	2.63%	29,522	1.44%	83,117	4.07%	1.55

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

Table 10.1 (reproduced from previous sections) shows a direct impact at £53.6 bn, equivalent to 2.6% of the UK’s GVA. For the first time the indirect impact and indirect multipliers were also estimated. The former equals to £29.5m, corresponding to 1.4% of the UK economy. The combined impact of £83.1m, reflects the direct and supply chain effects, and is equivalent to 4.1% of the UK economy. The overall multiplier for the sport industry is 1.55, corresponding to 1.36 for the characteristic goods and 1.65 for the connected goods. This result was justified on the basis that connected goods are less labour intensive and therefore they need to draw more resources from the supply chain, increasing the value of the multiplier.

As expected from previous research on the UK sport economy, the results became more significant when considering the effects on employment. Table 10.2 shows both the direct and indirect effects on full time equivalents (FTEs).

Table 10.2: Sport-related employment, 2021, full-time-equivalents

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	FTEs	share	FTEs	share	FTEs	share
Characteristic	354,152	1.40%	96,482	0.38%	450,634	1.78%	1.27
Connected	523,960	2.06%	313,387	1.24%	837,347	3.30%	1.60
TOTAL	878,112	3.46%	409,869	1.62%	1,287,981	5.08%	1.47

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

According to the Table above, the direct contribution of sport to employment is 878.1 thousand FTEs, corresponding to 3.5% of employment in the economy. When the indirect contribution is further examined then the overall impact of sport on FTEs increases to 5.1%, corresponding to 1.288 million in employment.

Under all the examined categories (direct, indirect, total), the effect of sport on employment is greater than the effect on GVA. As a result, it can be confirmed that the sport sector can generate more employment than other sectors of the UK economy (on average). In other words, an increase in sport investment, if the demand is available, will generate more employment than average. This is true even in the case of connected goods which are much less employment intensive compared to the characteristics sector.

When interpreting these results and considering the growing significance of the UK sport sector, it is important to acknowledge a potential caveat. The year under examination coincided with the delayed European Football Championship (Euro 2020), which is likely to have inflated the value of sport above its typical trend. Follow-up studies will be necessary to determine the long-term position of the UK, including England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, once the effects of such major events are identified.

The MNIOT distributed the GVA effect among the four nations of the UK, as the following Table illustrates:

Table 10.3: Sport-related gross value added by nations, 2021, bn. £

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	bn. £	share	bn. £	share	bn. £	share
England	46.7	87.1%	25.9	87.6%	72.6	87.3%	1.55
Scotland	3.8	7.0%	1.9	6.4%	5.7	6.8%	1.50
Wales	1.9	3.6%	1.0	3.5%	2.9	3.6%	1.53
Northern Ireland	1.2	2.3%	0.7	2.5%	1.9	2.4%	1.58
TOTAL (UK)	53.6	100%	29.5	100%	83.1	100%	1.55

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The are some small variations in the national distribution when comparing the direct and indirect effects. However, the overwhelming influence is the size of the national economies. England contributes 87% of the sport GVA (both direct and indirect) followed by Scotland at 6.8%, Wales at 3.6% and Northern Ireland at 2.4%.

Table 10.4 shows the equivalent picture of the impact of the national sport economies on employment.

Table 10.4: Sport-related employment by nations, 2021, FTE

	Direct		Indirect		Total		Multiplier
	FTE	share	FTE	Share	FTE	share
England	749,002	85.3%	342,987	83.7%	1,091.989	84.8	1.46
Scotland	69,380	7.9%	34,227	8.4%	103,607	8.0	1.49
Wales	38,345	4.4%	20,652	5.0%	58,997	4.6	1.54
Northern Ireland	21,384	2.4%	12,003	2.9%	33,387	2.6	1.56
TOTAL (UK)	878,111	100%	409,869	100%	1,287,980	100%	1.47

Source: Sheffield Hallam University.

The only difference that can be detected is that there is a small shift of employment away from England and into the other Home Nations when considering the employment effects in relation to GVA. As before this is expected and consistent with the assessment that sport may be a political tool not just for increasing employment but also for reducing inequalities among nations (or countries). Due to factors such as productivity and labour intensity, nations with lower per capita output are likely to benefit more from sport investment in terms of employment.

As a final observation, it is important to recognise certain limitations in what a Sport Satellite Account can reveal about the sport economy. While the SSA is effective in assessing the direct and indirect economic impacts of sport, it does not fully capture other significant aspects, such as the effects of volunteering, health benefits, or social factors like educational attainment and crime reduction, which are difficult to quantify within the Input-Output framework. These aspects are non-monetary issues which are valued via Social Value estimates. Recent research has shown that sport plays a crucial role in enhancing subjective wellbeing and building social capital, both through participation and volunteering. Therefore, the economic value estimated by an SSA should be considered a conservative estimate of sport’s overall impact, serving as a baseline for further analysis rather than a complete evaluation.

Appendix 1

England

SPORTS
	direct	indirect	total
Output (£bn)	87.0	54.0	141.0
Share	2.5%	1.6%	4.1%
Multiplier	1.62
Gross value added (£bn)	46.8	25.9	72.6
Share	2.7%	1.5%	4.1%
Multiplier	1.55
Employment (headcount)	1,064,770	429,609	1,494,379
Share	3.9%	1.6%	5.5%
Multiplier	1.40
Employment (FTE)	749,002	342,987	1,091,989
Share	3.5%	1.6%	5.1%
Multiplier	1.46

CHARACTERISTIC GOODS
	direct	indirect	total
Output (£bn)	24.5	11.3	35.8
Share	0.7%	0.3%	1.0%
Multiplier	1.46
Gross value added (£bn)	16.1	5.7	21.8
Share	0.9%	0.3%	1.2%
Multiplier	1.35
Employment (headcount)	476,620	106,596	583,216
Share	1.7%	0.4%	2.1%
Multiplier	1.22
Employment (FTE)	305,142	83,362	388,504
Share	1.4%	0.4%	1.8%
Multiplier	1.27

CONNECTED GOODS
	direct	indirect	total
Output (£bn)	62.5	42.7	105.2
Share	1.8%	1.2%	3.1%
Multiplier	1.68
Gross value added (£bn)	30.6	20.2	50.8
Share	1.7%	1.2%	2.9%
Multiplier	1.66
Employment (headcount)	588,150	323,013	911,163
Share	2.2%	1.2%	3.3%
Multiplier	1.55
Employment (FTE)	443,860	260	703,485
Share	2.1%	1.2%	3.3%
Multiplier	1.58

Scotland

SPORTS
	direct	indirect	total
Output (£bn)	6.7	3.7	10.4
Share	2.4%	1.3%	3.8%
Multiplier	1.55
Gross value added (£bn)	3.8	1.9	5.7
Share	2.5%	1.2%	3.7%
Multiplier	1.50
Employment (headcount)	99,660	33,957	133,617
Share	3.8%	1.3%	5.1%
Multiplier	1.37
Employment (FTE)	69,380	34,227	103,607
Share	3.4%	1.7%	5.0%
Multiplier	1.49

CHARACTERISTIC GOODS
	direct	indirect	total
Output (£bn)	2.1	1.0	3.1
Share	0.8%	0.4%	1.1%
Multiplier	1.95
Gross value added (£bn)	1.3	0.5	1.8
Share	0.9%	0.3%	1.1%
Multiplier	1.41
Employment (headcount)	42,819	10,237	53,056
Share	1.6%	0.4%	2.0%
Multiplier	1.24
Employment (FTE)	27,238	7,955	35,193
Share	1.3%	0.4%	1.7%
Multiplier	1.29

CONNECTED GOODS
	direct	indirect	total
Output (£bn)	4.6	2.8	7.4
Share	1.7%	1.0%	2.7%
Multiplier	1.59
Gross value added (£bn)	2.5	1.4	3.9
Share	1.7%	0.9%	2.6%
Multiplier	1.54
Employment (headcount)	56,841	23,720	80,561
Share	2.2%	0.9%	3.1%
Multiplier	1.42
Employment (FTE)	42,142	26,272	68,414
Share	2.1%	1.3%	3.3%
Multiplier	1.62

Wales

SPORTS
	direct	indirect	total
Output (£bn)	3.6	2.2	5.8
Share	2.6%	1.6%	4.2%
Multiplier	1.61
Gross value added (£bn)	1.9	1.0	2.9
Share	2.7%	1.6%	4.3%
Multiplier	1.53
Employment (headcount)	54,887	20,157	75,044
Share	4.0%	1.5%	5.5%
Multiplier	1.37
Employment (FTE)	38,345	20,652	58,997
Share	3.6%	1.9%	5.5%
Multiplier	1.54

CHARACTERISTIC GOODS
	direct	indirect	total
Output (£bn)	0.9	0.4	1.3
Share	0.7%	0.3%	1.0%
Multiplier	1.44
Gross value added (£bn)	0.6	0.2	0.8
Share	0.9%	0.4%	1.3%
Multiplier	1.34
Employment (headcount)	22,241	4,005	26,246
Share	1.6%	0.3%	1.9%
Multiplier	1.18
Employment (FTE)	14,158	3,193	17,351
Share	1.3%	0.3%	1.6%
Multiplier	1.23

CONNECTED GOODS
	direct	indirect	total
Output (£bn)	2.7	1.8	4.5
Share	2.0%	1.3%	3.3%
Multiplier	1.67
Gross value added (£bn)	1.3	0.8	2.1
Share	1.9%	1.2%	3.0%
Multiplier	1.67
Employment (headcount)	32,646	16,152	48,798
Share	2.4%	1.2%	3.6%
Multiplier	1.49
Employment (FTE)	24,187	17,459	41,646
Share	2.3%	1.6%	3.9%
Multiplier	1.72

Northern Ireland

SPORTS
	direct	indirect	total
Output (£bn)	2.3	1.5	3.8
Share	2.7%	1.8%	4.4%
Multiplier	1.65
Gross value added (£bn)	1.2	0.7	1.9
Share	2.6%	1.8%	4.4%
Multiplier	1.58
Employment (headcount)	30,214	12,870	43,084
Share	3.8%	1.6%	5.4%
Multiplier	1.43
Employment (FTE)	21,384	12,003	33,387
Share	3.4%	1.9%	5.4%
Multiplier	1.56

CHARACTERISTIC GOODS
	direct	indirect	total
Output (£bn)	0.5	0.2	0.7
Share	0.6%	0.2%	0.8%
Multiplier	1.50
Gross value added (£bn)	0.3	0.1	0.4
Share	0.7%	0.2%	0.9%
Multiplier	1.42
Employment (headcount)	11,872	2,489	14,361
Share	1.5%	0.3%	1.8%
Multiplier	1.21
Employment (FTE)	7,614	1,973	9,587
Share	1.2%	0.3%	1.5%
Multiplier	1.26

CONNECTED GOODS
	direct	indirect	total
Output (£bn)	1.8	1.3	3.1
Share	2.1%	1.5%	3.6%
Multiplier	1.72
Gross value added (£bn)	0.9	0.6	1.5
Share	1.9%	1.5%	3.5%
Multiplier	1.67
Employment (headcount)	18,342	10,381	28,723
Share	2.3%	1.3%	3.6%
Multiplier	1.57
Employment (FTE)	13,770	10,030	23,800
Share	2.2%	1.6%	3.8%
Multiplier	1.73

Appendix 2

Local authorities: England, in alphabetical order

England	Sport related GVA (£m)	Sport related GVA-share
Adur	43	2.7%
Allerdale	61	3.0%
Amber Valley	83	3.0%
Arun	106	2.7%
Ashfield	55	2.6%
Ashford	81	2.3%
Babergh	69	2.9%
Barking & Dagenham	104	2.6%
Barnet	209	2.2%
Barnsley	123	2.6%
Barrow-in-Furness	43	3.0%
Basildon	110	2.4%
Basingstoke and Deane	185	2.3%
Bassetlaw	51	2.6%
Bath and North East Somerset	200	3.5%
Bedford	109	2.3%
Bexley	102	2.0%
Birmingham	744	2.6%
Blaby	63	2.4%
Blackburn with Darwen	86	2.5%
Blackpool	118	4.3%
Bolsover	52	2.7%
Bolton	137	2.6%
Boston	43	2.7%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	243	2.2%
Bracknell Forest	140	2.1%
Bradford	298	2.9%
Braintree	84	2.4%
Breckland	75	2.7%
Brent	279	3.0%
Brentwood	52	2.7%
Brighton and Hove	292	3.1%
Bristol, City of	409	2.4%
Broadland	108	2.9%
Bromley	266	3.6%
Bromsgrove	57	2.4%
Broxbourne	116	3.4%
Broxtowe	54	2.4%
Buckinghamshire CC	428	2.6%
Burnley	60	3.6%
Bury	101	2.8%
Calderdale	134	3.0%
Cambridge	119	2.6%
Camden	1,689	1.4%
Cannock Chase	67	3.0%
Canterbury	108	2.7%
Carlisle	83	2.9%
Castle Point	51	2.4%
Central Bedfordshire	164	2.7%
Charnwood	104	2.4%
Chelmsford	124	2.7%
Cheltenham	90	2.5%
Cherwell	177	3.1%
Cheshire East	294	2.0%
Cheshire West and Chester	253	2.2%
Chesterfield	64	2.7%
Chichester	82	2.7%
Chorley	63	2.5%
City of London	88	1.4%
Colchester	101	2.4%
Copeland	42	3.0%
Cornwall	324	2.8%
Cotswold	67	2.5%
Coventry	261	2.6%
Craven	39	2.6%
Crawley	81	2.4%
Croydon	192	1.8%
Dacorum	185	3.4%
Darlington	58	2.4%
Dartford	75	2.4%
Derby	244	3.3%
Derbyshire Dales	46	3.0%
Doncaster	152	2.6%
Dorset	216	2.6%
Dudley	232	4.2%
Durham CC	267	2.8%
Ealing	213	2.2%
East Cambridgeshire	75	2.6%
East Devon	87	2.6%
East Hampshire	94	2.4%
East Hertfordshire	183	3.4%
East Lindsey	70	2.7%
East Riding of Yorkshire	199	2.7%
East Staffordshire	81	3.0%
East Suffolk	171	2.9%
Eastbourne	47	2.6%
Eden	43	2.9%
Elmbridge	172	2.9%
Enfield	196	2.5%
Epping Forest	83	2.4%
Epsom and Ewell	56	2.0%
Erewash	76	3.0%
Exeter	78	2.6%
Fareham	67	2.3%
Fenland	79	2.6%
Folkestone and Hythe	78	2.7%
Forest of Dean	61	2.5%
Fylde	75	3.0%
Gateshead	143	3.0%
Gedling	59	2.4%
Gloucester	99	2.5%
Gosport	46	2.3%
Gravesham	63	2.4%
Great Yarmouth	71	2.9%
Greenwich	124	2.0%
Guildford	179	2.9%
Hackney	275	3.5%
Halton	91	3.0%
Hambleton	62	2.6%
Hammersmith & Fulham	571	4.6%
Harborough	60	2.4%
Haringey	354	2.6%
Harlow	58	2.4%
Harrogate	114	2.6%
Harrow	176	2.2%
Hart	96	2.3%
Hartlepool	52	2.5%
Hastings	44	2.6%
Havant	68	2.3%
Havering	137	2.6%
Herefordshire, County of	114	2.8%
Hertsmere	126	3.4%
High Peak	61	3.0%
Hillingdon	201	2.2%
Hinckley and Bosworth	69	2.4%
Horsham	100	2.4%
Hounslow	549	4.1%
Huntingdonshire	154	2.6%
Hyndburn	54	3.6%
Ipswich	108	2.9%
Isles of Scilly	1	2.8%
Islington	303	2.6%
Kensington & Chelsea	404	4.6%
Kingston upon Hull, City of	162	2.7%
Kingston upon Thames	105	2.5%
Kirklees	273	3.0%
Knowsley	108	3.0%
Lambeth	287	2.2%
Lancaster	73	2.8%
Leeds	773	2.8%
Leicester	310	3.4%
Lewes	48	2.6%
Lewisham	313	2.6%
Lichfield	69	3.0%
Lincoln	59	2.7%
Liverpool	537	3.8%
Luton	121	2.5%
Maidstone	111	2.3%
Maldon	43	2.7%
Maldon	43	2.7%
Malvern Hills	43	2.4%
Manchester	731	2.8%
Mansfield	48	2.6%
Mansfield	48	2.6%
Medway	154	2.5%
Melton	31	2.4%
Mendip	72	2.8%
Merton	140	2.5%
Mid Devon	52	2.6%
Mid Suffolk	81	2.9%
Mid Sussex	106	2.4%
Middlesbrough	146	3.0%
Milton Keynes	516	3.5%
Mole Valley	60	2.0%
New Forest	120	2.4%
Newark and Sherwood	53	2.6%
Newcastle upon Tyne	205	3.0%
Newcastle-under-Lyme	78	3.0%
Newham	335	3.5%
North Devon	59	2.6%
North East Derbyshire	63	2.7%
North East Lincolnshire	91	2.2%
North Hertfordshire	161	3.4%
North Kesteven	72	2.7%
North Lincolnshire	101	2.2%
North Norfolk	55	3.0%
North Northamptonshire	205	2.8%
North Somerset	228	3.5%
North Tyneside	159	3.0%
North Warwickshire	56	2.6%
North West Leicestershire	64	2.4%
Northumberland	145	2.6%
Norwich	113	2.9%
Nottingham	300	2.8%
Nuneaton and Bedworth	112	2.6%
Oadby and Wigston	32	2.4%
Oldham	112	2.8%
Oxford	153	3.1%
Pendle	60	3.6%
Peterborough	189	2.8%
Plymouth	180	3.1%
Portsmouth	190	2.8%
Preston	139	3.0%
Reading	187	2.1%
Redbridge	105	2.3%
Redcar and Cleveland	0	3.0%
Redditch	52	2.4%
Reigate and Banstead	106	2.0%
Ribble Valley	64	3.0%
Richmond upon Thames	386	4.1%
Richmondshire	35	2.6%
Rochdale	108	2.8%
Rochford	50	2.4%
Rossendale	50	3.6%
Rother	41	2.6%
Rotherham	130	2.6%
Rugby	103	2.6%
Runnymede	109	2.9%
Rushcliffe	59	2.4%
Rushmoor	101	2.3%
Rutland	23	2.4%
Ryedale	37	2.6%
Salford	346	3.5%
Sandwell	167	2.6%
Sedgemoor	76	2.8%
Sefton	128	2.8%
Selby	66	2.6%
Sevenoaks	82	2.0%
Sheffield	378	2.8%
Shropshire CC	174	2.6%
Slough	155	2.1%
Solihull	247	2.5%
Somerset West and Taunton	95	2.8%
South Cambridgeshire	138	2.6%
South Derbyshire	74	3.0%
South Gloucestershire	328	3.5%
South Hams	53	2.6%
South Holland	57	2.7%
South Kesteven	86	2.7%
South Lakeland	79	2.9%
South Norfolk	78	2.7%
South Oxfordshire	160	3.1%
South Ribble	114	3.0%
South Somerset	104	2.8%
South Staffordshire	70	3.0%
South Tyneside	102	3.0%
Southampton	207	3.1%
Southend-on-Sea	97	3.3%
Southwark	336	2.6%
Spelthorne	132	2.9%
St Albans	174	3.4%
St. Helens	129	3.0%
Stafford	90	3.0%
Staffordshire Moorlands	62	3.0%
Stevenage	109	3.4%
Stockport	136	2.2%
Stockton-on-Tees	120	2.5%
Stoke-on-Trent	365	5.9%
Stratford-on-Avon	118	2.6%
Stroud	91	2.5%
Sunderland	165	2.5%
Surrey Heath	116	2.9%
Sutton	130	2.5%
Swale	88	2.4%
Swindon	210	2.2%
Tameside	103	2.2%
Tamworth	52	3.0%
Tandridge	60	2.0%
Teignbridge	81	2.6%
Telford and Wrekin	104	2.1%
Tendring	64	2.4%
Test Valley	101	2.4%
Tewkesbury	70	2.5%
Thanet	97	2.7%
Three Rivers	112	3.4%
Thurrock	113	2.5%
Tonbridge and Malling	94	2.0%
Torbay	63	3.1%
Torridge	39	2.6%
Tower Hamlets	413	1.1%
Trafford	302	3.5%
Tunbridge Wells	81	2.0%
Uttlesford	58	2.4%
Vale of White Horse	148	3.1%
Wakefield	219	2.6%
Walsall	126	2.6%
Waltham Forest	104	2.3%
Wandsworth	223	3.0%
Warrington	183	2.2%
Warwick	129	2.6%
Watford	126	3.4%
Waverley	156	2.9%
Wealden	81	2.6%
Welwyn Hatfield	139	3.4%
West Berkshire	173	2.1%
West Devon	33	2.6%
West Lancashire	59	2.5%
West Lindsey	53	2.7%
West Northamptonshire	473	3.6%
West Oxfordshire	123	3.1%
West Suffolk	144	2.9%
Westminster	2,176	2.9%
Wigan	169	2.6%
Wiltshire	299	2.3%
Winchester	92	2.4%
Windsor and Maidenhead	160	2.1%
Wirral	139	2.5%
Woking	135	2.9%
Wokingham	188	2.1%
Wolverhampton	195	3.5%
Worcester	62	2.4%
Worthing	78	2.7%
Wychavon	77	2.4%
Wyre	56	2.8%
Wyre Forest	55	2.4%
York	152	2.5%

Local authorities: Scotland, in alphabetical order

SCOTLAND	Sport related GVA (£m)	Sport related GVA-share
Aberdeen City	296	2.7%
Aberdeenshire	135	2.7%
Angus	53	2.9%
Argyll and Bute	46	2.9%
Caithness and Sutherland, and Ross and Cromarty	54	2.5%
City of Edinburgh	582	2.3%
Clackmannanshire	31	3.1%
Dumfries and Galloway	87	2.4%
Dundee City	115	2.9%
East Ayrshire	76	2.6%
East Dunbartonshire	21	2.9%
East Lothian	50	2.8%
Falkirk	106	2.5%
Fife	250	3.1%
Glasgow City	668	2.9%
Inverness and Nairn, Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey	144	2.6%
Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Arran and Cumbrae, and Argyll and Bute	82	3.4%
Midlothian	55	2.8%
Na h-Eileanan Siar	14	2.4%
North Ayrshire mainland	34	2.6%
North Lanarkshire	195	2.4%
Orkney Islands	11	1.9%
Perth and Kinross	107	2.4%
Scottish Borders	59	2.3%
Shetland Islands	17	2.1%
South Ayrshire	86	3.6%
South Lanarkshire	177	2.5%
Stirling	62	2.4%
West Dunbartonshire	46	2.9%
West Lothian	121	2.3%

Local authorities: Wales, in alphabetical order

WALES	Sport related GVA (£m)	Sport related GVA-share
Blaenau Gwent	26	2.4%
Bridgend	81	2.7%
Caerphilly	71	2.4%
Cardiff	275	2.6%
Carmarthenshire	110	2.7%
Ceredigion	40	2.7%
Conwy	69	3.4%
Denbighshire	58	3.4%
Flintshire	126	2.7%
Gwynedd	94	3.8%
Isle of Anglesey	35	3.3%
Merthyr Tydfil	36	3.2%
Monmouthshire	59	2.6%
Neath Port Talbot	75	2.7%
Newport	100	2.6%
Pembrokeshire	71	2.7%
Powys	62	2.7%
Rhondda Cynon Taf	144	3.2%
Swansea	150	2.7%
Torfaen	37	2.4%
Vale of Glamorgan	103	2.6%
Wrexham	105	2.7%

Local authorities: Northern Ireland, in alphabetical order

NORTHERN IRELAND	Sport related GVA (£m)	Sport related GVA-share
Antrim and Newtownabbey	97	2.8%
Ards and North Down	68	3.1%
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon	115	2.7%
Belfast	336	2.3%
Causeway Coast and Glens	80	3.5%
Derry City and Strabane	87	2.7%
Fermanagh and Omagh	71	2.8%
Lisburn and Castlereagh	104	2.9%
Mid and East Antrim	65	2.6%
Mid Ulster	107	2.7%
Newry, Mourne and Down	104	3.2%

Appendix 3

By sport results

The analysis grouped sports into three major groups: summer sports, winter sports, and Paralympic sports. While many of these sports align with Olympic disciplines, the analysis represents a practical allocation of the entire direct impact of sport (£53.6 billion), extending beyond the scope of Olympic sports alone. It’s important to note that the current approach is a pragmatic, experimental method based on the assumption that sport participation plays a key role in driving sport-related GVA and employment. As we lack detailed impact studies for the majority of sports, these results should be considered indicative rather than definitive. Furter information on the methodology used and links to reports that have been published using it, can be found in section 4.5.

Table A.1 below shows the results of the GVA generated by all sports that could be identified through Active Lives Survey 2021 and Sport England data for Paralympic sports (as explained in the methodology) The results are presented as an overall direct contribution to GVA from each sport, and they are consistent with the Vilnius Definition. A more detailed table, including GVA and participation numbers is at the end of this section.

According to Table A.1, the most important category is ‘Summer sport’ valued at £30.8 bn of GVA direct impact and corresponding to 57% of the total. This category includes sports such as athletics, swimming, gymnastics, but not team sports, motorsports and tennis. The latter group of sports is the second most important category under consideration and includes football, golf, rugby, tennis, cricket, motor sport and Gaelic sports. These are sports with major commercial presence and often have dedicated economic impact studies that can be consulted for the purpose of this analysis. They are valued at £16 bn and correspond to 30% of the direct economic impact. Health and Fitness on its own, outside the context of individual sports, contributes £4.4 bn, or 8% of the total. This value is followed by Paralympic sport, valued at £1.4 bn, or 3% of the total. The participation rates for Paralympic sports do not come directly from the Active Lives Survey, and one has to consider issues of comparability with the rest of the dataset. Nevertheless, Paralympic sport benefits from its association with the manufacturing sector bringing in value that is not accessed by other sports. Finally, winter sports are valued at £1 bn based on Active Lives Survey data. As a caveat, when using the above comparison for winter sports one should consider that the data in 2021 was not as detailed as in previous years, resulting to only five winter sports being included in the dataset: Alpine skiing, free style skiing, skating, ice hockey, and snowboard.

Table A.1: Sport-related GVA, 2021, £bn

	Direct GVA £bn	Percentage distribution
Summer sports	£30.8	57%
Winter sports	£1.0	2%
Paralympic sports	£1.4	3%
Team sports, tennis, motorsports	£16.0	30%
Health and Fitness	£4.4	8%
Total	£53.6	100%

Among the Summer sports the most important in term of their GVA contribution are:

• Athletics, including running: £7,445m
• Swimming /diving: £6,247m
• Cycling (three categories): £5,365m

These three sports correspond to more than half of the total direct GVA contribution of summer sports. Athletics is particularly high, because it includes not only the formal organised element, but also informal participation such as running and jogging.

In the case of winter sports, the GVA contribution is driven by:

• Alpine skiing: £505m
• Free style skiing: £375m
• Skating: £93m

As mentioned before, not all the expected winter sports appeared in the survey results which may imply that the sector was still suffering from the effects of COVID and having reduced numbers of participants.

The Paralympic Sports are driven by the major categories that are identified in summer sports and by blind football:

• Para swimming: £399m
• Para athletics: £358m
• Para cycling: £156m
• Blind football: £112m

Those four paralympic sports are responsible for more than 70% of the generated value in the sector. As a caveat, please note that the results are not taken directly from the Active Lives Survey (ALS), and there may be data inconsistencies.

Finally, the remaining sports were examined on their own right due to their high level of GVA generation and commercial presence. Among them the following four sports generated most impact:

• Football: £8,710m
• Health & Fitness that does not overlap with other sport participants: £4,408m
• Golf: £2,505m
• Tennis: £1,767m

The following section provides a comprehensive list of sports analysed, along with their associated GVA, as discussed earlier. It should be reiterated that many of these figures result from a pragmatic modelling approach, and therefore, they should be interpreted with caution. Consequently, further research is needed in the future to assess the economic impacts of each individual sport more accurately.

Appendix 4

Data used for the construction of MNIOT and the SSA framework

The datasets below are helpful for the inter-regional trade and one link suggests an experimental methodology for it.

https://www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/#regional-trade

https://www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/regional/2023/uk-regional-trade-in-goods-statistics-second-quarter-2023/

https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/experimentalmethodologyforproducingukinterregionaltradeestimates

https://www.escoe.ac.uk/uk-interregional-trade-estimation/

Trade of Wales with the rest of the UK:

https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/value-welsh-exports-imports-rest-23502401

The Office for Internal Market Report has some aggregate data below, using experimental statistics. If you scroll down there are sections for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with links. The links will take you to footnotes and then to data publications. These as far as I can see are aggregate, but they can be useful to regulate the model.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oim-annual-report/oim-annual-report-on-the-operation-of-the-internal-market-2022-23wit

The following link is a very good summary of Welsh data. Cardiff University did an experimental Input Output Table, but very general. The Trade statistics for Wales has, if you download the table, aggregate interregional tables.

https://www.gov.wales/statistics-wales-quarterly-update-december-2022-html

Trade Survey for Wales: 2021 - GOV.WALES

https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/151984/1/Project_Report_Input_Output_Tables_Wales_2019.pdf

Employment data below. The 5 digit classification is for UK and GB.

5 digit employment codes

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/industry235digitsicbusinessregisterandemploymentsurveybrestable2

Employment in regions of England and the country of Wales - Office for National Statistics

Employment in local authorities, England and Wales: Census 2021 - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

GVA data. The balanced dataset has industry related data up to 2021

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossvalueaddedgva/datasets/regionalgrossvalueaddedincomeapproach

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/datasets/regionalgrossdomesticproductallnutslevelregions

Regional gross value added (balanced) per head and income components - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

UK Input Output Tables

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/supplyandusetables/datasets/inputoutputsupplyandusetables

UK input-output analytical tables, product by product - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

ABS UK and regional tables

https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/nonfinancialbusinesseconomyukandregionalannualbusinesssurvey/2021results

Pan European Sport Account

Study on the economic impact of sport through Sport Satellite Accounts

BRES data

Industry (two, three and five-digit Standard Industrial Cl assification) – Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES): Table 2 - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Sport England economic development, active places

Economic development - Sport England

https://www.activeplacespower.com/OpenData/download

International Trade

The following publication has a detailed trade profile in the regions but not interregional trade:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/internationaltrade/bulletins/internationaltradeinuknationsregionsandcities/2021

The following has international trade for the nations but not among them:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-regional-trade-in-goods-statistics-third-quarter-july-to-september-2023/uk-regional-trade-in-goods-statistics-third-quarter-july-to-september-2023-commentary

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-regional-trade-in-goods-statistics-third-quarter-july-to-september-2023

Scottish Data

Scottish Trade

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2021/10/export-statistics-scotland-2019/documents/export-statistics-scotland-2019—publication/export-statistics-scotland-2019—publication/govscot%3Adocument/Export%2BStatistics%2BScotland%2B2019%2B-%2BPublication.pdf#page=3

The following states that 6% of Scotland exports went to the rest of the UK:

https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/scotlands-contribution-to-the-uks-economy-wellbeing-and-quality-of-life/#:~:text=Scotland%20had%20a%20trade%20deficit,%25%20to%2039%25%20of%20GDP.

For 2018: UK, biggest trading partner

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/scotlands-biggest-trading-partner-continues-to-be-the-uk

There is also a publication named ‘Exports Statistics Scotland’ and a Survey: ‘Global Connections Survey’ that can provide information:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/exports-statistics-scotland-2021/pages/introduction/

Scottish Input Output Tables

https://www.gov.scot/publications/about-supply-use-input-output-tables/

Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables: 1998-2020 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Nomis data, Scottish economy by industry- employment

Labour Market Profile - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics (nomisweb.co.uk)

Northern Ireland Data

Input Output Tables

The Analytical Input-Output tables - Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (nisra.gov.uk)

Employment

Labour Force Survey Annual Summary Report 2021 - Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (nisra.gov.uk)

Sport participation data

Taken from the Active Lives Survey and Sport England

1. The report is accompanied with further Excel files, illustrating the model used, the use of data, and outputs that address specific issues such as the ‘regionalisation’ of the UK’s Input Output Tables (IOT) into the nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the estimation of the GVA matrix for the UK at the four-digit CPA level, the way to invert a matrix in order to derive the Leontief inverse, etc. ↩

2. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-active-a-strategy-for-the-future-of-sport-and-physical-activity/get-active-a-strategy-for-the-future-of-sport-and-physical-activity ↩

3. Study on the economic impact of sport through sport satellite accounts - Publications Office of the EU (europa.eu) ↩

4. 2016 release, 2018 DCMS GVA release, 2019 DCMS GVA release ↩

5. https://evisproject.eu/publications ↩

6. Link 1: https://www.sportengland.org/guidance-and-support/measuring-impact?section=social_and_economic_value_of_community_sport, Link 2: https://evisproject.eu/publications ↩

7. Gratton, C., & Kokolakakis, T. (2013). Assessing the economic impact of outdoor recreation in Northern Ireland. Research Report: Sport Northern Ireland. Available at: www.sportni.net/sportni/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Economic-Impact.pdf ↩

8. SpEA, SIRC, Statistical Service of Republic of Cyprus, Meerwaarde Sport en Economie, FESI, Ministry of Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Poland (2012). Study on the Contribution of Sport to Economic Growth and Employment in the EU. Research Report. European Commission, Directorate-General Education and Culture, Brussels. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/sport/library/studies/study-contribution-spors-economic-growth-final-rpt.pdf ↩

9. Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) (2011). 2004–2006 Sport Satellite Account for the UK: A Research Report. DCMS and UK Sport, London. Available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2004-06-sport-satellite-account-report ↩

10. Humphreys, B.R., & Ruseski, J. (2008). The Size and Scope of the Sports Industry in the United States*. IASE/NAASE Working Paper Series No. 08–11. ↩

11. Milano, M., & Chelladurai, P. (2011). Gross domestic sport product: the size of the sport industry in the United States. Journal of Sport Management,* 25, 24–35. ↩

12. Henley Centre for Forecasting (1992). The Economic Impact and Importance of Sport I the UK Economy in 1990. Sports Council, London. ↩

13. https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/05/sports-industry-economic-analysis.docx ↩

14. The CPA classification system (Classification of Products by Activity) is a European Union classification standard used to categorise goods and services based on the economic activities that produce them. It aligns with the statistical needs of the EU, allowing for the systematic and harmonised reporting of economic data across member states. The CPA system links products to the sectors in which they are produced, enabling consistent comparisons of production, consumption, and trade statistics across countries. ↩

15. The NACE classification system (Nomenclature of Economic Activities) is a European statistical standard used to classify economic activities within the European Union. It provides a framework for the systematic collection and presentation of statistical data related to the economy, particularly for national accounts, employment statistics, and other economic analyses. ↩

16. The RAS method is suitable for creating new or updated tables from already existing older and consistent input-output tables and new marginal values. ↩

17. The RAS algorithm has been made available to DCMS, for potential use in the future. ↩

18. https://www.uksport.gov.uk/-/media/files/full-economic-impact-report.ashx ↩

19. An alternative approach is to examine the Children and Young People Survey. ↩

20. https://www.uksport.gov.uk/news/2024/07/26/olympic-and-paralympic-sport-provides-boost-to-the-uk-economy#:~:text=The%20research%2C%20which%20was%20conducted,which%20detailed%20analysis%20is%20possible. ↩

21. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sport-satellite-account-for-the-uk-statistics#:~:text=This%20report%20provides%20figures%20on,the%20number%20of%20people%20employed. ↩

22. https://www.uksport.gov.uk/~/media/files/full-economic-impact-report.pdf?la=en ↩

23. https://sportengland-production-files.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/economic-value-of-sport.pdf ↩

24. https://sportscotland.org.uk/media/qwzjt332/economic-importance-of-sport-in-scotland-1998-2016-full-report.pdf ↩

25. https://www.sport.wales/content-vault/social-return-on-investment-in-sport/#:~:text=The%20sport%20industry%20in%20Wales,jobs%20in%20the%20same%20year ↩

26. http://www.sportni.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/EconomicImportance.pdf ↩

27. https://www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/#regional-trade ↩

28. Experimental methodology for producing UK interregional trade estimates - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) ↩

29. OIM Annual Report on the Operation of the Internal Market 2022-23 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ↩

30. https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/pbl-euregio-database-2000-2010?locale=de. Download of the tables is possible here: https://dataportaal.pbl.nl/PBL_Euregio/ ↩

31. Spowage, M. and Davidson, S.N. (2021) Improving the Quality of Regional Economic Indicators in the UK: A Framework for Interregional Trade Data Collection and Estimation, ESCoE Technical Report TR-13 ↩

32. Input-output supply and use tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) ↩

33. Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ↩

34. The Analytical Input- Output tables - Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (nisra.gov.uk) ↩

35. Project_Report_Input_Output_Tables_Wales_2019.pdf (cardiff.ac.uk) ↩

36. https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/nonfinancialbusinesseconomyukandregionalannualbusinesssurvey/2021results ↩

37. Regional gross value added (balanced) per head and income components - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) ↩

38. Regional gross domestic product: all ITL regions - Office for National Statistics ↩

39. Industry two, three and five-digit Standard Industrial Classification – Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES): Table 2 - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) ↩

40. Employment in regions of England and the country of Wales - Office for National Statistics ↩

41. Employment in local authorities, England and Wales: Census 2021 - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) ↩

42. Statistics Wales quarterly update: December 2022 - GOV.WALES ↩

43. Trade Survey for Wales: 2021 - GOV.WALES ↩

44. Introduction - Exports statistics Scotland 2021 - gov.scot ↩

45. Scotland’s contribution to the UK’s economy, wellbeing and quality of life - House of Lords Library (parliament.uk) ↩

46. Labour Market Profile - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics ↩

47. Labour Force Survey Annual Summary Report 2021 - Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (nisra.gov.uk) ↩

48. Study on the economic impact of sport through Sport Satellite Accounts ↩

49. Economic development - Sport England ↩

50. Active Places Power / Open Data Download ↩

51. Note that here only GVA is considered. In terms of turnover, retail is clearly more important. ↩

52. ITL3 areas refer to the International Territorial Levels (ITL) 3 classification system. It categorises regions based on their size, population, and economic activity. The system divides areas into different levels (ITL1, ITL2, and ITL3), where ITL3 represents the smallest level in terms of geographic or administrative units. ↩

53. From 2021 datasets ↩

54. Study on the economic impact of sport through sport satellite accounts - Publications Office of the EU (europa.eu) ↩