The Role of Contextual Factors in Youth Participation in Organized Sport

The participation of youth in organized sport can be regarded as an established aspect of society. The present article reflects on organized youth sport in Flanders – a setting which can be regarded as typical of the western European context. The different sectors of the Flemish organizational youth sport network, in which sport can be regarded as an ‘aim’ or as a ‘means’, are described in terms of structural characteristics and participatory trends. As youth involvement does not occur in a social vacuum, developments and changes in society in general – and in organized sports in particular – have an influence on how youngsters come to participate and remain in organized sport activities. The influence of four major developments and changes (i.e. demographic, socioeconomic, sociopsychological, sport-related) is discussed. It is concluded that a concerted and quality-based youth sport approach is necessary to deal with the different developments that influence organized sport in today’s western European society.