Shouldn't interest in sport be about opportunity, not biology?

For many of us, the memories of being at our first sporting event with a parent became a defining moment in our lives, and they did us a big favour by introducing us to sports.

As parents, we should want to share these experiences with our children – and for good reason. Apart from improved physical health, sports participation plays a critical role in a child’s development, including emotional, social, educational and other benefits that can last into adulthood.

So as parents, we have to ask:

• Why do 70% of children drop out of sport by the age of 13?


• What’s led to childhood obesity rates tripling in recent years?


• Why in countries like the UK, over 70% of people with a disability take no part in sport or physical activity?


• Why are only 2% of girls aged 12 to 17 getting enough physical activity?


• Why do only 8% of girls meet the recommendations of physical activity?


• Why do only 1 out of 10 high school girls enroll in optional physical education classes?

And speaking of girls, shouldn’t interest in sport be about opportunity, not biology?

How can we increase sports participation opportunities for girls and women when the lack of public awareness and recognition female athletes receive has left many girls and women with an apathetic attitude towards sport?

Boys grow up with a media landscape bombarding them with heroic and confident images of themselves playing sports and being revered for their accomplishments.

Well young girls need female role models too, who will create positive images beyond the one where they’re valued or devalued on looks alone, and who can inspire them to want to participate in their respective sports. Building confidence is very important to instill in young girls and it is a quality many female athletes exemplify both in and outside of their sport.

Well Fanzland aims to change all that.

The team at Fanzland worked hard to understand the needs of children and realized a new, careful approach to grassroots sport was needed and arecommitted to promoting and encouraging participation at all levels regardless of gender or ability.

The introduction of the Fanzland platform will be launced on the crowd-funding site www.kickstarter.com in early April 2016.