38% of UK girls will avoid watching the Euros final with others 

A new survey reveals that nearly two-fifths (38%) of girls and young women in the UK are watching the Euros alone to avoid feeling unwelcome during group sports watching. 

The survey by global children and girls’ rights charity Plan International UK, which included 1,000 girls and young women aged 14-21, found that a significant portion (33%) always or sometimes feel unwelcome when watching sports, whether on TV with others or in a live crowd. 

Twice as many girls said they’ll avoid watching the Euros with others compared to any other sporting event. The sports events girls were most likely to say they will avoid watching with others this year are: 

·       Euros (38%) 

·       Olympic Games (19%) 

·       Wimbledon (15%) 

·       British Grand Prix (13%) 

·       Cricket Test series (12%) 

Poppy, aged 14, from South Wales, says:  

"I've always felt upset watching sports in groups as it makes people way too aggressive in my opinion. Last year in my school they decided to put on a football match in celebration of Wales entering the world Cup. Throughout the match there were numerous violent and sexist comments made predominantly by the male students in my year. These made me feel honestly scared and incredibly on edge, since then I've always been really anxious when watching sports in a group, mainly scared things would go wrong." 

Kathleen Spencer Chapman, Director of Influencing and External Affairs at Plan International UK, says: 

“These findings are both shocking and unacceptable. It’s deeply concerning that girls and women still face barriers to equal engagement and participation in sports, with many avoiding even the simple joy of watching a football match because they’ve been made to feel like they don’t belong. Every girl deserves an inclusive environment where they feel welcome and empowered to enjoy sporting events if they want to. 

“Our upcoming 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 new Government to remove the biggest barriers to gender equality.” 

Notes to editors: 

Methodology: 

·       The survey of 1,000 girls across the UK aged 14-21 was conducted by Opinium between 2-8 July 

·       The results have been weighted to be nationally representative