Irish Sports Monitor 2022 Mid-Year Report

The Irish Sport Monitor 2022 Mid-Year Report has been published, showing that participation in sport continued to rise in 2022 and recover from the impact of Covid-19.

During the first half of 2022, sports participation rates reached 44%, still slightly behind the 2019 level of 46% but above levels recorded in 2021.

The Irish Sports Monitor (ISM) is a large population study undertaken biennially in order to provide trends in participation in sport and physical activity in Ireland.

The Mid-Year Report represents the results for the first six months of data collected on the Irish Sports Monitor 2022 (ISM 2022). Comparisons are provided between Q1 and Q2 2022, along with equivalent research conducted in 2019, 2020 and 2021

Among the other findings in the report, research shows that attendance at events has returned to the level measured in 2019, with 19% of people spectating at a sport event in the last seven days in Q2 2022.

However, the return of club memberships and volunteering has slowed in 2022, with little change in club membership (31% in Q2 2022 compared to 36% in 2019) and volunteering (9% in Q2 2022 compared to 12% in 2019).

Almost one in three people, 29%, would like to try a new sport.  The most popular sports people would like to try are tennis (11%), Rugby (11%), Swimming (9%), Golf (8%) and Basketball (8%).  Enjoyment and fun is the most popular reason for wanting to try new sports followed by improving fitness and health.

The Irish Sports Monitor 2022 Mid-Year Report can be found here.