100% of tutors believe sporting achievements are key driver for girls to play sports, Superprof survey finds

With women’s sporting events in full swing this year, including the Six Nations and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, online tutoring platform Superprof asked its network of sports tutors about the impact of these events on interest and uptake.

The survey found that these events have a significant impact on women, with 100% of tutors saying that achievements, like winning medals, drive girls to pick up sports. Moreover, 85% said that girls are more likely to stick to a sport if it’s picked up around a major event like the Women’s World Cup.

Superprof’s sport tutors also noted an overall shift in perceptions due to each event’s growing profile, compared to a few years ago. 60% said that both parents and students have shown a more positive view of women-led sports in recent years, especially towards traditionally male-dominated sports like football and cricket. 96% said that they’re witnessing a lot more support from parents and guardians when their children pick up sports.

Increased visibility has a big role to play; the standout moment in 2025 was the UEFA Women’s EURO final, which was the most-watched UK broadcast moment of the year across all television programming, drawing a peak audience of 16.22 million across BBC and ITV. Overall, 48 million viewers tuned in to women’s sport, up from 45.2 million in 2024, making it the most-watched year on record.

While over half agreed that schools are doing enough to encourage girls to pick up sports, 43% believe that more could be done to get them involved, with 89% agreeing that online tutoring is particularly useful for low-pressure, accessible participation.

Beyond schools, tutors also still see societal challenges facing girls when it comes to picking up sports, and the key challenge is stereotypes. ‘’Despite the growing popularity of women’s sporting events in recent years, there is still a societal stigma and downplayed importance of them. This results in an overall lack of interest for girls to pick sports up long term, especially if they feel like they’re not working towards something big that’s taken seriously’’ said Lauren Fay, Horseback Riding tutor on Superprof.

‘’There’s no doubt that women’s sports have made significant progress in recent years, especially thanks to the rising popularity of women’s sporting events. However, we’re still witnessing challenges. At Superprof, we’re focused on continuing to break down these barriers by offering women additional means to strengthen their skills, beyond the traditional channels.’’ Wilfried Granier, Superprof Founder and CEO said.‘’89% of the tutors said that online tutoring is useful for getting more girls into sports. It’s great to see that our aim to offer tailored and personalised learning experiences is on the right track.’’