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TakeBackSports.org
2025 TAKE BACK SPORTS IMPACT REPORT
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At ESPN, sport has always been more than a game, it’s a force for 
connection, community and change. With participation rates in youth 
sports down from where they were over a decade ago, we recognize 
both the opportunity and responsibility to help reverse that trend. 
Our mission is to reimagine what youth sports can be: more accessible 
and more fun.
As a member of the Aspen Institute’s Project Play and national 
63X30 committee, we’re working towards the industry’s ambitious 
goal to engage 63% of youth in regular sports activity by 2030.  
We’re aligning our platforms, partnerships and purpose to make 
sports possible for kids across the U.S.
COMMUNITY +  
BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
Studies continue to show that early 
sports participation builds lifelong fans 
and fosters community identity. 
By investing in youth sports, we’re 
not only nurturing the next generation 
of athletes, we’re strengthening the 
future of fandom and the ecosystems 
that power it: families, schools and local 
leagues.
Youth who play sports are 14 times  
more likely to become an avid fan.  
The younger sports fandom begins,  
the higher likelihood of adult avidity. 
That’s why Take Back Sports serves as 
an important part of the company’s  
expansion priority to engage Gen Alpha. 
According to a forthcoming 
study from Project Play  
and partners, having fun is 
the number one thing kids 
like most about playing on 
an organized sports team.
The average 
child today  
spends less than 
3 years playing 
a sport, quitting 
by age 11. 
YOUTH AUDIENCE 
EXPANSION
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TakeBackSports.org
YOUTH 
WHO PLAY 
SPORTS 
ARE 14X 
MORE 
LIKELY TO 
BECOME 
AN AVID 
FAN. 

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