Decrease in girls’ aspirations to reach elite sports levels
The number of girls who believe they can reach elite levels in sport has hit an all-time low, according to new research, reports BritPanorama.
Current figures show that only 23 per cent of girls aspire to excel in athletics, a significant decline from 38 per cent the previous year. This 15 per cent drop is particularly noteworthy given the unprecedented visibility for women’s sports in 2025, exemplified by the Lionesses’ consecutive European Championship victories and the Red Roses’ Rugby World Cup success.
The findings come from the latest Let Her Dream report published by the charity Women in Sport, marking the lowest recorded figure since monitoring commenced in 2020. The report surveyed 2,504 young people aged 13 to 24, revealing that nearly half of the girls polled—45 per cent—feel that “people think sport is for boys and doesn’t matter for girls.” This reflects the pervasive nature of gender stereotyping that continues to impact the sporting ambitions of young women.
Among girls who identify as sport enthusiasts, the proportion dreaming of achieving elite levels has decreased by up to 35 per cent. The heightened profile of female athletes has inadvertently led to increased exposure to abusive comments online, a significant deterrent for many girls considering a career in sports.
Stephanie Hilborne, chief executive of Women in Sport, described this trend as a “dream deficit,” particularly disappointing in light of the achievements of women’s athletics over the past year. “We didn’t expect the gap between girls and boys to widen in this way, and for girls’ dream rates to have plummeted. It’s really gutting, especially as the Lionesses and Red Roses couldn’t have done more to inspire the nation last summer,” Hilborne stated.
She further noted that while elite women’s sport has gained visibility, it also exposed female athletes to online misogyny, which has had a chilling effect on participation. Hilborne emphasised the role of gender-specific sports, stating that girls-only activities are still rare, especially for those under 11. “If you throw girls and boys together, thinking it’s on an equal playing field, it’s not,” she insisted.
The charity advocates for increased investment in female-only team activities, both in schools and grassroots clubs, as a means to counteract this worrying trend. Survey data support the need for such initiatives, with 83 per cent of girls and young women indicating that single-sex rugby has improved their confidence, a stark contrast to the 59 per cent of boys reporting the same.
This landscape starkly illustrates how even within impressive milestones, barriers continue to undermine the ambitions of young women in sports, evoking a complex interplay between achievement and aspiration.
