Socio-cultural influences

Participation in sport is influenced by social factors, such as people’s age, gender, disability, ethnicity, friendship group and family.

Sport requires people to follow written and unwritten rules to make it fair. It expects people to behave responsibly to ensure respect, fairness and safety. In this way, it promotes social values.

Sport is not just about participation. It is also part of the commercial world, managed and marketed to make money. Sponsorship and the media are now significant influences on sport.

Technology affects many aspects of sport from performance on and off the field to spectating and public profile. Increasingly, advances in technology influence grass-roots as well as elite sport.