Nearly 25% of UK girls 'rarely' or 'never' feel like they fit in when they play sports

Seeing Keely Hodgkinson win a gold Olympic medal in the 800m will undoubtedly inspire scores of young athletes across the country to get their trainers on – but when it comes to girls feeling confident and included in sports, we are still miles miles away from the finish line.

New research from Plan International UK, a global children and girls’ rights charity, found that 24% of UK girls say that they ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ feel like they fit in when they play sport.

The charity surveyed 1,000 UK girls aged between 14-21 and found the top reasons that they are not fully comfortable when playing sport are:

Personal insecurities about their bodies (51%)
Self-doubt about sporting ability (50%)
Feeling judged (48%)
Having been bullied or made fun of in sports settings before (28%)
Feeling excluded in the game (26%)
Feeling constant pressure to perform better (23%)

Amelia Whitworth, Head of Policy, Campaigns & Youth at Plan International, says: ‘Keely Hodgkinson’s incredible achievement – and becoming the first female Olympic athletics gold medal since 2012 for Great Britain – will no doubt inspire a generation of girls. But it will only have a lasting effect if we tackle the barriers that girls and women still face to equal engagement and participation in sports.

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‘It’s deeply concerning that girls and young women are continuing to feel out of place whilst playing sport. Every girl deserves an inclusive environment where they feel welcome and empowered to enjoy any sport they choose.

‘Our recent State of Girls’ Rights in the UK 2024 report finds that no matter where in the UK girls are, they are not experiencing the progress on gender equality that they’ve been promised. We urgently need to see a plan for bold action from the UK Government to remove the biggest barriers to gender equality.’