Sport is part of our life. Three years ago it was introduced into the Italian Constitution in article 33: “The Republic recognizes the educational, social and psychophysical well-being value of sporting activity in all its forms”. From the latest ISTAT findings, there are more than 21 million 500,000 people in our country who practice one or more sports in their free time (37.5% of the population, a figure that has grown by 6.6% over the last thirty years). It is a sector that represents as a whole (between direct and indirect revenues) 1.5% of GDP, or 32 billion euros with 420 thousand employed. But how much does it cost to start playing sports as a child and what impact does it have on families?
Average annual costs based on sport: swimming and tennis are the most expensive
According to ISTAT, the most practiced sport currently in Italy is gymnastics, which also includes fitness and physical culture, with 33.1% of practitioners, almost a third of the total. Football follows, chosen by 20.3% of athletes. In third place are water sports with 18.7% of those practicing. Based on federal membership data, or on official reports from federations and Sports and Health, football is in first place (1.5 million memberships), ahead of tennis and padel (1.15 million) and volleyball (320 thousand).
But how much does it cost to get your children to play sports? The answer to this question is provided to us by Federconsumatori with its latest survey on practitioners under 14 years old dated 2023. From the monitoring it emerges that the most expensive activities, taking into consideration the cost of the course – with an average frequency of twice a week – and of the equipment, are swimming (with a total outlay of 1,054 euros per year), tennis (962 euros, of which around a third is equipment – the highest figure in this category) and football (910 euros). To these amounts must be added the registration costs which, depending on the sports center, can vary on average from 35 to 150 euros. Here is the complete overview:
How many minors play sports in Italy and who can access benefits
More than 5 million minors between the ages of 3 and 17 play sports, of which 75.6% are between 11 and 14 years old. ISTAT data on sports practice also shows that one in three minors (33.7%) between 6 and 10 years old trains three or more times a week; over half of the older ones, aged between 11 and 14, also practice sports with the same frequency (51.4%). Those who don’t do sport say they don’t do it mainly due to lack of interest and time, but the share of those who give up for economic reasons also weighs heavily (10.9% between 6-10 years; 11.3% between 11 and 14 years).
In order to facilitate the spread of sporting activity among children and to help families with the expenses they have to bear, the Government provides a tax deduction equal to 19% for all costs relating to the practice carried out by children aged between 5 and 18 years. The maximum deductible is 210 euros for holders of a total income of up to 120,000 euros. The amount gradually decreases until it reaches zero if the family’s income is equal to or greater than 240,000 euros. According to the annual report on tax expenditure, drawn up by the Commission for Fiscal Expenditure of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in 2024 alone, 1.62 million Italian taxpayers had access to the deduction. Furthermore, during the current legislature a 2 million euro fund was created for the year 2027, with similar purposes (contributions for the costs of registration and attendance at amateur sports activities), although with different conditions such as the age of the beneficiaries and the family ISEE (under 18 years with ISEE less than 20 thousand euros).
