Key Takeaways
- WHO data published in The Lancet shows 86 percent of adolescents worldwide fall short of recommended physical activity levels.
- Nike, Adidas, Asics, New Balance, Decathlon and Bauer are among 84 signatories to the WFSGI-coordinated open letter.
- Signatories agreed to four shared commitments, including closing the gender gap and lobbying governments on health, education and urban planning policy.
- One in four adolescents aged 11 to 17, roughly 240 million young people, report no active days in a typical week, per the WHO.
Eighty-four sporting goods companies and federations have signed an open letter on youth inactivity coordinated by the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI), the Bern-based trade body announced on November 4, 2026. The letter responds to World Health Organization (WHO) data published the same day in The Lancet showing that 86% of adolescents worldwide do not meet recommended physical activity levels. Signatories, including Decathlon, committed to four shared actions aimed at reaching the least active young people and closing the participation gap between girls and boys.
How Many Adolescents Are Physically Inactive?
The WHO analysis draws on 389 population-based surveys conducted across 140 countries and territories, covering more than 3.2 million adolescents aged 11 to 17, according to the WFSGI release.
Two numbers stand out. First, 86% of adolescents fall short of recommended activity levels, which WHO said supersedes its 2016 estimate of 81%. Second, roughly one in four adolescents, about 240 million young people, reported no active days at all in the previous week.
WFSGI framed the findings as a public health issue as much as a sports issue. Physical inactivity is a top-tier risk factor for non-communicable diseases, which account for 75% of deaths globally, the release noted.
Four Commitments From a $675 Billion Industry
The signatories agreed to four actions, per the letter:
- Deliver initiatives that increase youth participation, close the gender gap and reach the least active adolescents.
- Share best practices and evidence-based solutions across the sporting goods industry and beyond.
- Partner with global, regional and national stakeholders who shape the systems and environments around adolescent activity.
- Engage governments to push for alignment between health, education, sport, trade and urban planning policy.
The companies acknowledged that existing investments in grassroots programs, community initiatives, athlete sponsorships and participation campaigns have not reversed the trend, and that more intentional collective action is required, according to the release.
The industry behind the letter is sizable. WFSGI’s new economic impact report, The Industry That Moves the World, produced with Oliver Wyman, puts the sector at approximately $675 billion in annual revenue and 28 million jobs globally.
“Our biggest competitor is inactivity. Our greatest opportunity is participation,” said Emma Zwiebler, Chief Executive Officer of WFSGI. Zwiebler added that the letter is a commitment to work with public and private sector partners both inside and outside the sports ecosystem.
Decathlon CEO Javier López said the WHO findings reinforce the need to accelerate action, and called youth wellbeing a collective responsibility that demands cross-sector collaboration.
Girls Trail Boys in Every Region
The WHO data shows girls are less active than boys in all regions of the world. Per the release, 28% of girls reported no active days in a typical week, versus 22% of boys.
Because barriers to participation often differ for girls, signatories committed to sharing insights and testing approaches that keep more girls in sport, specifically naming access to equipment, safe spaces, coaching and school-based programs as areas of focus.
84 Signatures on Day One, and the Pen Is Still Out
The letter is not a closed document. WFSGI said it remains open for endorsement by companies across the sporting goods value chain, including manufacturers, brands and retailers, with Caroline Brooks, WFSGI Head of Physical Activity, as the point of contact for organizations that want to sign.
For youth sports operators, the relevant detail is who the signatories named as partners: governments, schools, health professionals and sports organizations. The commitments are written as collaborative, not unilateral, which means local leagues, facilities and school programs are the delivery channel the letter describes.
No timelines, funding figures or measurement targets accompanied the announcement. What exists today is a list of 84 names and four pledges, and WFSGI has left the door open for that list to grow.
Source / Adapted From: Footwear News via Yahoo Sports, Vicki M. Young, November 4, 2026, https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/adidas-asics-balance-nike-more-162801808.html
source: https://wfsgi.org/news-events/open-letter-youth-inactivity/
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American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
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Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
