Basketball grows, but Football, Running & F1 still top for UK fans

• Football, Running, Formula 1 and Swimming remain the top sports for engagement, retaining their positions from 2024
• Traditional sports—often tied to specific regional and cultural heritage—such as cricket, rugby, and golf have experienced a surge in popularity in 2025, with each showing increased levels of engagement
• Basketball saw breakout growth, climbing seven places to 13th place overall, and 6th among Gen-Z adults (18-24 year olds), driven by content creation and in-person attendance

Football, Running, Formula 1 and Swimming continue to dominate as the UK’s most popular sports, according to the latest EY-Parthenon Sports Engagement Index.

The EY survey, polling over 4,000 adults in the UK, uses comparative data to gauge engagement levels in various sports. The survey’s measure of engagement includes either participation in the sport, followership of the sport (on television or digitally) or event attendance.

The 2025 index confirmed Football as the UK’s number one sport for overall engagement, retaining its position from last year, followed by Formula 1, Swimming and Tennis. Hiking climbed two places to fifth, overtaking Running.

However, in 2025, there have been some surprise comebacks from more traditional sports –Cricket is up six places (14th to 8th), Rugby Union is up three (13th to 10th) and Golf is up four (15th to 11th). While Cricket and Rugby have attracted casual fans, Golf has also grown in popularity with more avid engagers who are engaging with the sport on a weekly basis.

The standout growth story for the latest Index is Basketball, which jumped seven places to 13th, driven by younger fans engaging with the sport through social content and live events.

EY Sports Engagement Index – Top 15 rankings

The survey reveals that overall engagement with sports remains strong, dipping slightly from 90% in 2024 to 88% in 2025 – this is likely due to the absence of the Olympics which increased engagement in 2024. Gender differences persist, however. Among 18–24-year-olds, 92% of men engaged with sport often or very often, compared to 77% of women. Across all ages, the gap narrows, suggesting higher engagement from men may stem from stronger grassroots programmes and greater TV coverage of men’s sports. Engagement declines with age for both genders, more sharply for women (81% for women over 55 compared to 89% for men).

Simon Mantell, Sports Industry Sector Lead, UK&I at EY, said: “The 2025 EY Sports Engagement Index highlights a dynamic and evolving UK sports landscape. While Football, Formula 1 and Swimming remain dominant, the rise of Hiking and the resurgence of sports like Cricket, Rugby and Golf signal a broadening definition of engagement. The rapid growth of Basketball among Gen-Z, driven by digital content and live experiences, underlines the importance of innovation in fan connection.

“These shifts show that sports organisations must embrace diversity in participation and engagement, invest in wellbeing-focused activities, and adapt to changing fan behaviours. Those that fail to respond risk losing relevance in an increasingly competitive and inclusive sporting environment.”

Women’s summer of sport

2025 has been widely recognised as the ‘Women’s summer of sport’ due to major sporting events such as the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 and the return of women’s tennis to the Queen’s Club.

These high-profile competitions have fuelled a surge of interest in women’s sport, particularly in Football and Rugby Union. Among women’s Football followers, 35% started following the sport within the last two years, and 66% within the last five years. This strongly correlates with England’s success in the last two UEFA Euro competitions and their runner-up finish in the World Cup in 2022. For women’s Rugby, half of all followers began in the last two years, likely boosted by England’s World Cup performance on home soil. In contrast, for men’s Rugby this figure is 10%, highlighting the rapid growth of women’s Rugby.

Sarah Hanks, Media and Sports Strategy Lead at EY-Parthenon, added: "While major tournaments like the UEFA Women’s Euro and Women’s Rugby World Cup have amplified followership, the challenge now lies in sustaining this interest and promoting participation at domestic and grassroot levels. This requires investment in infrastructure, coaching, and visibility for women’s leagues, alongside innovative digital engagement strategies to keep fans connected year-round. If these efforts succeed, women’s sport could become one of the fastest-growing segments in the UK’s sporting landscape.”