Contents
- Sport volunteering statistics: participation and reach
- Sport volunteering statistics: volunteer roles and duties
- Sport volunteering statistics: frequency and time commitment
- Sport volunteering statistics: who volunteers
- Sport volunteering statistics: recruitment, tenure and support
- Sport volunteering statistics: regional and historical comparisons
- Sources
Sport volunteering statistics: participation and reach
Sport volunteering statistics describe different things depending on where and how they are collected. Some figures count people connected with a sporting organisation; others ask adults whether they volunteered in sport, physical activity and recreation during a recall period. Those distinctions matter: the country totals below are not directly interchangeable, and the percentages do not all share the same denominator.
In Ireland, the Labour Force Survey counted 261,000 people aged 15–74 who volunteered in a sporting organisation in Q2 2025. The same release estimated almost 3.3 million volunteer hours per month for sporting organisations, or 12.6 hours per person per month. The hours estimate refers to activity during the previous 4 weeks, is not seasonally adjusted, and can include multiple voluntary activities. Source: Ireland’s Labour Force Survey, Q2 2025
In Wales, 9% of adults aged 16 and over—213,000 people—reported volunteering in sport during the previous 12 months in the 2024–25 survey. The corresponding “had not volunteered” category was 91%, or 2,241,000 adults. These are the survey’s reported categories and counts, and they show that recent sport volunteering involved a minority of Welsh adults. Source: Sport Wales, State of the Nation report 2024–25
Canada’s 2024 Physical Activity and Sport Survey covered adult volunteering related to sport, physical activity and recreation. It found 11% had volunteered in that scope in the past 12 months. A further 26% had not volunteered in the past year but had volunteered previously, while 63% had never volunteered in that scope. The three categories make clear why a past-year participation rate and a lifetime “never volunteered” measure should not be treated as the same indicator. Source: CFLRI, Volunteering in sport, physical activity, and recreation
| Geography and measure | Reported result | Population and period |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland: sporting-organisation volunteers | 261,000 people | Ages 15–74; Q2 2025 |
| Wales: volunteered in sport | 9%; 213,000 adults | Ages 16+; previous 12 months, 2024–25 |
| Wales: had not volunteered in sport | 91%; 2,241,000 adults | Ages 16+; previous 12 months, 2024–25 |
| Canada: volunteered in sport, physical activity and recreation | 11% | Adults; previous 12 months, 2024 |
| Canada: volunteered previously, but not in past 12 months | 26% | Adults; 2024 |
| Canada: never volunteered in that scope | 63% | Adults; 2024 |
Sources: Central Statistics Office Ireland; Sport Wales; CFLRI.
Sport volunteering statistics: volunteer roles and duties
Volunteer work spans visible, activity-facing duties and the practical work that enables a club or event to operate. In Wales, the 2024–25 survey asked sport volunteers about types of volunteering during the previous 12 months. Fundraising was reported by 42% (89,000 adults) and coaching by 41% (87,000). Transport for people other than family was reported by 29% (61,000), while 27% (58,000) reported administration.
Other Welsh duties included stewarding, at 23% (50,000); catering, at 11% (24,000); and refereeing, at 10% (21,000). These role responses may overlap, so the percentages should not be added as if each volunteer selected only one duty. The survey presents them as types undertaken by sport volunteers, not exclusive job categories. Source: Sport Wales, State of the Nation report 2024–25
Canadian results also show a mix of roles. Among adults volunteering in sport, physical activity and recreation in 2024, 32% were coaches or assistant coaches. Fundraising was reported by 20%; administration duties and referee or official duties each by 16%. Managers or assistant managers accounted for 13%, and registration duties for 11%. The categories may overlap, so they describe the range of work rather than a partition of volunteers into single roles. Source: CFLRI, Volunteering in sport, physical activity, and recreation
| Role or duty | Wales, sport volunteers (2024–25) | Canada, sport, physical activity and recreation volunteers (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Coaching | 41% (87,000) | 32% |
| Fundraising | 42% (89,000) | 20% |
| Administration | 27% (58,000) | 16% |
| Refereeing / referee or official | 10% (21,000) | 16% |
Sources: Sport Wales; CFLRI. The scopes and survey periods differ, so this is a description of reported categories, not a like-for-like ranking.
The Welsh report also identifies transport for non-family members, stewarding and catering. Those duties broaden the picture beyond coaching and officiating: volunteers may help people reach activities, support safe event operations or provide practical services. The Canadian list adds management and registration. The evidence supports this range of reported roles, but it does not establish how duties are divided within particular clubs or what causes people to choose them. Source: Sport Wales; CFLRI
Sport volunteering statistics: frequency and time commitment
Frequency and hours measure different dimensions of involvement. In Wales, among sport volunteers reporting frequency over the previous 12 months, 38% volunteered at least once a week (82,000 adults). Another 26% volunteered less than once a week but at least once a month (56,000). Less than once a month was reported by 33% (70,000), and 3% (6,000) selected another frequency. These published categories show both regular weekly service and less frequent contributions. Source: Sport Wales, State of the Nation report 2024–25
For Welsh volunteers who had volunteered in the previous 4 weeks, the report gives approximately 6 to 7 hours of volunteer time. That figure has a narrower reference window than the frequency categories above. It describes hours among those recently active, rather than a weekly average for every person who volunteered at any point in the previous 12 months. Source: Sport Wales, State of the Nation report 2024–25
The Irish Sports Monitor 2023 reports weekly time among sport volunteers: around half spent 1 to 2 hours per week, 23% spent 3 to 4 hours, and a further 28% spent more than 5 hours each week. The report’s wording and categories are retained here; they should not be combined with Wales’s hours measure because the survey period and measure differ. Source: Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Report, p. 41
Ireland’s Q2 2025 Labour Force Survey gives a separate monthly measure: sporting organisations received almost 3.3 million hours per month, equivalent in the release to 12.6 hours per person per month. The estimate is based on hours during the previous 4 weeks and is not seasonally adjusted. Its population and time unit differ from the 2023 weekly distribution, so the figures provide complementary views rather than a trend line. Source: Ireland’s Labour Force Survey, Q2 2025
Sport volunteering statistics: who volunteers
Participation differs across demographic groups in the reported results, but the figures use distinct populations and definitions. In Ireland in Q2 2025, 7.1% of males aged 15–74 volunteered with sporting organisations, compared with 5.7% of females in the same age range. These are sex-specific participation proportions for sporting-organisation volunteering. Source: Ireland’s Labour Force Survey, Q2 2025
In Canada’s 2024 survey, 22% of adults aged 18–24 volunteered in sport, physical activity and recreation during the past 12 months. The reported rate for adults aged 65 and older was 7%. These age-group results describe past-year participation in the survey’s broader sport, physical activity and recreation scope. Source: CFLRI, Volunteering in sport, physical activity, and recreation
The same Canadian report gives a gender comparison for adults who had volunteered either in the past year or earlier than 12 months ago: 14% of men and 8% of women. Because this combines recent and earlier volunteering, it is not equivalent to the past-year measure used for the age comparison. Keeping the stated period attached avoids reading the gender figures as current-year-only participation. Source: CFLRI, Volunteering in sport, physical activity, and recreation
Sport volunteering statistics: recruitment, tenure and support
Canadian findings offer detail on how sport, physical activity and recreation volunteers came into their roles. In 2024, 31% said a club or organization asked them to volunteer. Another 23% sought out the activity themselves, and 22% were asked by friends or acquaintances. Family was the route for 14%. Smaller reported routes were a mandatory community-service requirement at 5% and responding to a media advertisement at 4%. These are reported recruitment routes and should not be read as mutually exclusive shares. Source: CFLRI, Volunteering in sport, physical activity, and recreation
| Recruitment route reported by Canadian volunteers | Share, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Asked by a club or organization | 31% |
| Sought out the activity themselves | 23% |
| Asked by friends or acquaintances | 22% |
| Asked by family | 14% |
| Mandatory community-service requirement | 5% |
| Responded to a media advertisement | 4% |
Source: CFLRI, Volunteering in sport, physical activity, and recreation.
Length of service ranged from newer volunteers to people with long involvement. In Canada in 2024, 19% had volunteered for less than a year, 29% for 1 to 3 years, 16% for 4 to 6 years and 9% for 7 to 9 years. A further 26% reported 10 years or more. These are tenure categories at survey time, not predictions about how long volunteers will continue. Source: CFLRI, Volunteering in sport, physical activity, and recreation
On preparation, 70% of Canadian sport, physical activity and recreation volunteers agreed they received adequate training to perform their duties effectively. Another 13% disagreed, while 17% neither agreed nor disagreed. The responses capture volunteers’ reported view of training adequacy; they do not assess training quality independently. Source: CFLRI, Volunteering in sport, physical activity, and recreation
Sport volunteering statistics: regional and historical comparisons
Within Canada, past-year volunteering in sport, physical activity and recreation varied by province in the 2024 survey. Saskatchewan recorded 17% of adults volunteering in the previous 12 months, while Quebec recorded 9%. These provincial figures describe the same broad activity scope and recall period, though they do not explain the reasons for the difference. Source: CFLRI, Volunteering in sport, physical activity, and recreation
Ireland’s historical figures provide a defined comparison across survey years. The Irish Sports Monitor reports that the sport volunteering rate returned to 11% in 2023, the baseline recorded in 2017. The 2023 rate remained marginally behind the 12% recorded in 2019. These points place the 2023 result in context without implying a continuous annual series from the figures cited here. Source: Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Report, p. 36
The 2023 Irish report also describes the nature of sport volunteering: 46% of volunteers were involved in coaching, 18% provided transport, 12% were club officials and a further 12% were activity organisers. Its coaching measure uses a 7-day recall period and defines coaches as volunteers coaching children or adults in sport or recreational physical activity. That definition should remain attached to the coaching figure when setting it beside role measures from other countries. Source: Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Report, p. 41
Across these sources, the recurring detail is the variety of participation: people volunteer in organisations, report activity within a recall window, and take on roles ranging from coaching and fundraising to transport, administration and event support. The numerical comparisons remain bounded by each survey’s geography, age range, reference period and definition of volunteering.