Background to the Research

• This report represents the first attempt to evaluate the true economic significance of sport, placing it in the context of the Northern Ireland economy.

Research Approach

• The study employed four types of data source: postal questionnaires to targeted sources, interviews and correspondence with appropriate individuals in various localities, consultation of official statistics at both regional and national levels.

Main Findings

• Consumer spending on sports related items amounted to some £184m in 1989, more than the total expenditure on either alcoholic drinks or tobacco. The largest items of sport spending are on clothing and footwear, gambling and subscriptions and fees to sports clubs.
  
  
• The importance of sport in terms of employment can be seen from its total of 7,6000 jobs, only slightly less than in energy or in electrical and electronic engineering, and exceeding sectors such as paper and printing and timber and wooden furniture. These jobs are almost equally split between men and women.
  
  
• A high proportion of sports-related employment is highly skilled with almost 32% classified as professional and managerial.
  
  
• The high level of participation in sport, particularly of the indoor variety, is illustrated by the high proportion of value added (14%) accounted for by voluntary sports clubs and organisations compared with previous studies in the UK (e.g. comparative figure for Wales was 8%).
  
  
• A number of important policy implications emerge from this study. One of these is the huge potential for sports to develop. A present high level of participation in sport and a young population, who are likely to display similar characteristics, will place major demands on the provision of sports facilities.
  
  
• At present the Northern Ireland economy is failing to fully capitalise on this high level of participation and the associated high level of expenditure. Compared to other studies, sports-related employment in Northern Ireland is low in relation to its population. This appears to be partly due to the Province's small size which inevitably increases the proportion of economic activity resulting from sports expenditure going outside the area but also due to poor linkages between the commercial sport and commercial non-sport sectors.