The Team Magazine. Why do teenage girls quit sports?

During childhood, while boys are heavily oriented towards sports, girls fall behind. In adolescence, the dropout rate exacerbates the phenomenon. The question arises: why is there a disconnect between girls and sports? By Chrystelle Bonnet. Read more here

The teenage girls’ dropout in sports is part of a broader dynamic. According to the article, the decline in sports licenses also affects boys, but the gap emerges from childhood, with fewer girls joining clubs. The challenge lies in the initial “engagement” rather than abandonment. “It is not a motivation issue,” but a social and sporting environment one. The hurdles are numerous: academic pressure, body transformations, societal expectations, lack of female role models, and inadequate supervision. According to the MGEN/Kantar study, 45% of young girls quit “despite themselves.” The weight of social norms and images spread through social networks accentuates this phenomenon in a system still heavily focused on competition. In response, federations are adjusting their offerings. Developing recreational practices, mixed or more flexible formats. Volleyball exemplifies this strategy with a decrease in dropout rates. The economic aspect is also crucial: expanding and retaining female participants to support the growth of women’s sports.