What if the biggest opportunity to increase sports participation in Europe is not building new facilities, but using the ones we already have much better?

Across Europe, municipalities are facing a growing challenge. Citizens are asking for healthier communities, more opportunities to be active, better public services, stronger social connections and more sustainable cities. At the same time, local governments are dealing with rising costs, ageing infrastructure and increasing pressure on public budgets. Sport sits right in the middle of this challenge. It is expected to contribute to health, wellbeing, social inclusion and community building, yet the facilities that support these ambitions often operate under the same models and assumptions that were developed decades ago.

These questions formed the foundation of the latest ESWAM webinar, "Time to Play it Smart". Bringing together experts from Denmark, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, the session explored how changing participation patterns, smarter policies and innovative technologies are reshaping the future of sports infrastructure. While the speakers represented different countries and perspectives, they all pointed towards the same conclusion: the future of sport will not only be shaped by facilities themselves, but by the quality of the data that helps us understand them.

The discussion began with a challenge to one of the most deeply rooted assumptions in sport. Maja Pilgaard from the Danish Institute for Sports Studies (IDAN) highlighted how participation behaviour is changing rapidly, particularly among younger generations. Traditional sports systems are largely built around the idea that people choose one sport, join one club and remain loyal members for years. Increasingly, that is no longer the reality. Young people move between activities, combine organised sport with informal physical activity and seek flexibility rather than long-term commitment. In Denmark, multisport memberships are becoming increasingly popular, allowing people to participate in multiple sports through a single membership. Research shows that many young people engage in a surprisingly wide variety of activities throughout the year, challenging the traditional structure of organised sport.

This trend may appear subtle, but its implications are profound. If participation is becoming more flexible, should facilities continue to be organised around individual sports? Should sports clubs collaborate more closely to offer multisport experiences? And how can municipalities support participation patterns that no longer fit neatly into existing structures? Pilgaard’s presentation demonstrated that understanding modern sport participation requires a new mindset, one that focuses less on organisations and more on the needs and behaviours of citizens.

If changing behaviour creates new questions, data provides the opportunity to answer them. Sarah Van Laeken from Sport Vlaanderen showed how the Flemish government has spent more than fifteen years building a comprehensive sports data ecosystem to better understand participation and guide future policy. Rather than relying on assumptions, Sport Vlaanderen systematically collects information from sports clubs, coaches, infrastructure databases, subsidy programmes, participation surveys and educational initiatives. The goal is not data collection for its own sake, but the creation of better conditions for sport and physical activity across all age groups and target groups. As Van Laeken explained, measurement leads to knowledge, knowledge leads to insight and insight ultimately leads to better policy.

One of the key challenges highlighted by Sport Vlaanderen is that organised sport represents only a fraction of the total sports landscape. While clubs remain important, the majority of physical activity takes place outside traditional structures through walking, cycling, fitness, outdoor recreation and informal sport. Capturing this broader picture requires new data sources and new ways of thinking. Through initiatives such as the Sports Innovation Campus in Bruges, Sport Vlaanderen is actively experimenting with technology, sensors and innovative participation concepts to better understand how people move and how facilities can support future generations. Their approach combines policy, innovation and research, creating a model that many municipalities across Europe are beginning to study closely.

Nathan Geurink from the Mulier Institute brought the discussion from data to policy. According to Geurink, many municipalities have already expanded their ambitions for sport. Sport is increasingly viewed as a tool to improve health, social participation, wellbeing and community cohesion. Yet despite these broader ambitions, facility policies often remain largely focused on traditional organised sport. This creates a growing mismatch between what municipalities want to achieve and how their infrastructure is managed.

Rather than arguing for entirely new infrastructure or a fundamental shift away from organised sport, Geurink emphasised that municipalities can make better use of their existing facilities to support both traditional and emerging policy goals. More flexible allocation and booking models, socially oriented management, stronger collaboration with sectors such as health and education, and closer alignment between facility policy and participation policy can all help increase the societal value of sport facilities. In many ways, his presentation served as a bridge between the strategic ambitions of policymakers and the practical realities faced by facility managers.