WSF Report: Girls Pay 25% More to Play, College Sports Lag Pros
New York – September 30, 2026 -- The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) has released its inaugural WSF Sport Report 2026, a new annual benchmark tracking girls' and women's sports participation from youth leagues through professional and Olympic competition.
Girls pay 25% more than boys to participate in organized sports
Median annual sports spending is $500 for girls compared with $400 for boys, according to the report. Cost is an even greater barrier for girls from lower-income households, who are more than twice as likely as their peers to cite expense as the reason they have never played.
54% of girls who have never played say they want to, nearly matching boys at 52%
Despite similar interest levels, actual participation diverges: 45% of girls ages 8-18 currently play organized sports versus 52% of boys, based on a YouGov survey of more than 6,100 U.S. parents and 3,065 children conducted May 28-June 15, 2026.