Decline in licensees and volunteers New practices The sports association sector shaken up

Even though it is increasingly jostled, the associative world still has a significant influence on French sports. This is nothing new for the health crisis in 2020 and 2021, which amplifies trends that had already started to emerge, such as a decline in the number of licensees, a decline in the ranks of volunteers, or even modifications to sports practices.

As a result, while the government is currently encouraging more sport participation among French citizens as a result of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sector's ability to adapt to new situations and overcome obstacles is being questioned. According to a study on the sports industry that Groupe BPCE released on January 26th, this is what stands out in particular.

Alain Tourdjam, the director of studies and forecasting for the mutual banking group, claims that "the associative world is called into question both in its practices and its governance. Does this associative world have the ability to catch up to what was already under way prior to the health crisis? This is a real concern. "The period 2000-2020 was characterized by three trends: a ceiling in practice (particularly licensed), a diversification of the forms of practice and the aspirations of practitioners, and a deinstitutionalization of practices," had also been highlighted by the Center for Law and d'économie du sport (CDES) in a study on the expectations and nay.

The latter referred to a club practice and associative model that were "sometimes exacerbated by the health crisis" and were "showing the first signs of slowing down.". Less volunteers and licensees According to statistics cited by the BPCE, 365,000 sports associations will bring together 14.4 million licensees (by the end of 2021), draining 20 percent of the French population who participate in sports.

It is definitely not insignificant. However, this membership is drastically down from last year—by 22% to be exact, i.

e. As of 2017, "the signals of a decline in associative practice were already palpable," according to BPCE, which estimates there were 4 million fewer licensees.

The CDES stated in its study that "the year 2018 marked the first significant drop in sports licenses (-70,000)" and pointed to a further drop in licenses of 7% in 2020, stating that it would "probably be the sign confirmation of this trend.". But Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, minister of sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, wanted to reassure in the fall of 2022 in front of senators and representatives.

Because of the dynamics surrounding the Olympic Games, she claimed, "the number of licensees could return to the level it had reached before the health crisis, or even exceed it.". According to Alain Tourdjman, who highlights their aging and some of them not returning after the crisis caused by Covid-19, volunteers—whom the BPCE estimates at 180,000 full-time equivalents in sports associations—are "one of the issues that poses a problem for the future of the latter": "For local elected officials, the main issue in the conduct of sports policies is the volunteering crisis.".

Similar findings were made in the CDES study, which identified the post-Covid-19 loss of a significant number of volunteer leaders and their failure to be replaced as "the major subject": "Local authorities consider the remobilization of volunteers to be a major issue. Evolution of practices The decline in the number of licensees highlights one thing in particular: "There is a difficulty for the associative sector to capture developments," explains Alain Tourdjam, citing the demand for sports practices oriented towards health and well-being, contact with nature, with more flexibility (time slots, prices), or a diversification of the methods of practice (individualized support).

Furthermore, the CDES had emphasized "the difficulty of sports associations in adapting" to the new context created or exacerbated by the health crisis and "in proposing new offers" to address it. His research had presented an eye-opening statistic: in 2018, more than 50% of practitioners over the age of 15 had already engaged in an unsupervised sporting activity.

The emergence of digital tools, with online coaching or the measurement of key effort indicators for better performance monitoring and the ability to share or compare results, is an example of a phenomenon that illustrates the mismatch that can occur between demand and supply for associations. During the confinement, these tools were used more frequently.

Alain Tourdjman points out that "this digitization is underdeveloped in the environment of sports associations.". The CDES had noted that "this phenomenon can prove problematic for associations when their digital transition is proving to be very gradual, partially complicating the renewal of their offer.".

Alain Tourdjman expressed pessimism about the sports movement's actors, stating that it "will be complicated" for the sports associations to catch up with the decline in the number of licensees. In its study, BPCE reminds us that we must not lose sight of the fact that the associative framework "is the creation of social ties, obligations and commitments vis-à-vis others which make its sustainability and development all the more necessary.

". The banking industry, however, makes no comments regarding this sector's potential for renewal.

"Several players in the sports movement" had reportedly expressed "their fear regarding the ability of clubs to adapt," according to the CDES. According to his study, "the need for a reform of the associative model seems to be growing" and that "a model based on voluntary participation in free fall" is "unsustainable," sports movement actors are "pessimistic, even very pessimistic about the sustainability of a model".

In the fall of 2022, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra acknowledged several times when presenting her budget and the issues surrounding the Olympic and Paralympic Games, "The big challenge is to succeed in strengthening our sports model.". Suppose she advocated for a sport that is "more innovative, more modern," and that "develops economic models that allow it to have sustainable and autonomous resources.".

According to Alain Tourdjman, who highlights their aging and some of them not returning after the crisis caused by Covid-19, volunteers—whom the BPCE estimates at 180,000 full-time equivalents in sports associations—are "one of the issues that poses a problem for the future of the latter": "For local elected officials, the main issue in the conduct of sports policies is the volunteering crisis.