Black girls being failed by sport, report finds

When it comes to sport Black boys also dream high but many more do get to play, and while 1.3m teenage girls fall out of love with sport across all races and backgrounds, it is Black girls who started with the greatest love and leave sport in the greatest numbers.

The report reveals that many Black girls are growing up under intense pressure. Within their wider lives they have to navigate minoritisation, the likelihood of economic hardship, high ambition to succeed and exacerbated fears around safety.

To play sport all girls face the dual challenge of female puberty and systemic sexism, but Black girls also face typecasting, racial stereotyping and adultification. For many, sport could and should be a safe haven – a place of freedom, belonging and self-expression. But instead of finding joy, too many Black girls find judgement and exclusion. In fact, 32% of Black girls say they are frequently penalised or get in trouble simply for expressing themselves in sports and physical activity.

The report identified key issues pushing black girls out of sport:

1. Limited, inflexible sporting options – there are few sustained local sporting opportunities for girls, and those available can be expensive, rigid, high-pressure environments, ill-suited to a Black teenage girl managing other heavy demands on her life. This culture strips the joy out of sport.
2. Too little focus on safe, sustainable or single sex environments – for Black girls, safety is paramount, so sport at unsociable times or in inaccessible places and with few single-sex options or female coaches is a problem. These issues affect all girls, but the issue is even more acute for some minority communities.
3. Minoritisation, Stereotyping and Typecasting – Black girls can feel hyper-visible but lonely. Their needs are frequently misunderstood and assumptions are made about which sports or roles suit them. Adults may unconsciously show racial bias, shaped by negative stereotypes. As a result, Black girls often feel boxed in.
4. Hair and aesthetics – On top of all this the lack of understanding of different cultures, and the unique needs of Black girls around hair protection can become another reason to walk away.

Alongside the report, a powerful campaign film ‘Dear Sport’ brings the lived experiences of Black girls to life. In it, four teenage girls share common, painful experiences of sport in one continuous narrative. Their words are based on letters to sport girls the involved with the research were invited to write.

Tessa Sanderson CBE, Olympic gold medallist and Women in Sport ambassador, said: ‘This research is truly heartbreaking. I wouldn’t be where I am today if my PE teacher hadn’t believed in me. She saw my potential before I even knew it was there. Every Black girl deserves that kind of support, someone to see her, value her and stand beside her. All girls deserve to experience the joy of sport, whether the goal is Olympic gold or simply the confidence to be themselves. We must build a sporting culture that lifts Black girls up, not one that shuts them out.”

Stephanie Hilborne OBE, CEO of Women in Sport, said: “Sport should be a sanctuary, a source of joy and a gateway to opportunity. But for too many Black girls, it becomes a source of pain, exclusion and loss, to feel like another space where they don’t belong. We must change this story. Sport is a real opportunity to make a difference to the lives of Black girls. Sport matters for mental and physical health but also for building life skills. School PE provision has crashed since Tessa’s days, and the nature and culture of local sports opportunities is also pushing Black girls away. Sports providers need to sit up and listen if they are to do right by Black girls and there is little doubt of the benefit to sport from doing so.”

The report calls on sports leaders, coaches, and policymakers to take urgent action to close the dream-reality gap for Black girls and rebuild trust – starting with listening, learning and committing to change. Recommendations include investing in safe, joyful spaces, developing more flexible talent pathways and better representation of Black women across the sector.

The research was supported by British Cycling, British Rowing, England Hockey, England Netball, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the Football Association (FA), the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), and the Rugby Football Union (RFU).