The table shows the proportion of schoolboys from two separate age groups who take part in football, basketball, cricket, rugby and swimming across the UK, recorded in 2010.
It’s noticeable that the percentage of boys aged 6-11 participating in sports was higher than that of the remaining group. Moreover, football had the highest participation rate in both age groups, while swimming accounted for the smallest number of participants.
Both age groups recorded the highest level of participation in football, with 87% in the 6-11 age range. This figure was 9% higher than in the older group. The second most popular sport was cricket, attracting 45% of participants among the younger age group, whereas the 12-16-year-olds constituted 34%. Basketball came after cricket, attracting 35% of children aged 6 to 11 and 25% of those aged 12 to 16.
Rugby was seen as less popular than the top three sports, and the participation rates were 23% for boys aged 6-11 and 21% for those in the older age group. Swimming had the smallest share of participation and became the only activity that saw equal participation rates from both age groups, with 19% in both groups.