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45%40%35%30%25%20%15%10%5%0%NoNo teamsCoachesfacilitiesnot nice(changingrooms,pitch,etc.)Parentsdon'tallow itWhy don’t you play sport outside of school?Σ 252 pupilsFriendsDon't feelNot goodDon't likedon't playgoodenoughsportsChart 3.06: Reasons for not playing sport outside school; breakdown by genderRespondents were asked if they have asporting hero. The results show that 72% ofboys have a sporting hero, compared with52% of girls. Those percentages are correlatedwith the likelihood of boys and girls wantingto become professional athletes: 59% ofboys want to become a professional athlete,compared with 34% of girls. The differencebetween the genders in both questions ishighly significant (Chart 3.04). 35The responses were just as revealing whenrespondents were asked to name theirsporting hero. Two football players – LionelMessi (16%) and Cristiano Ronaldo (11%) –dominated the list, and the top six sportingheroes, who accounted for 37% of all answers,were all male. The results also showed thatgirls were more likely than boys to name aperson close to them, such as their coach or arelative. 36Double discriminationway behind the starting line. Our researchshows that coming from a migrant backgroundis also a limiting factor and is oftencorrelated with lower economic status.Therefore, girls from a migrant backgroundare discriminated against twice over: theyhave a lower rate of participation in sportsthan boys (18 percentage points lower), whichfalls further (another 6 percentage points) ifthey come from a migrant background (Chart3.05).The lack of changing rooms as a barrierExperts saw sports facilities without separateshowers and changing areas as a major barrierto access sport. Girls do not feel comfortablebeing in the same area as boys in thesesit-uations once they have begun puberty. Nothaving separate changing rooms is consiereda barrier to access for many sports, butespecially football and basketball, as highlightedby Italian project officers.Good Practice■ Public swimming pools,NetherlandsPublic swimming pools haveintroduced time slots whenthe swimming pool is open onlyto female swimmers, allowinggirls to swim in bathing suitsand suitable clothing in a nonthreateningenvironment.Many factors can contribute to children notparticipating in, or dropping, sports and physicalactivity. Low-income families, womenand girls, and overweight people begin someHowever, the survey results as regards theimportance of appropriate facilities (changingrooms, pitches, etc.) as a reason for girls’inactivity outside of school were surprising.Only 12% of girls listed a lack of facilities as35The difference between the percentage of boys and girls that have a sporting hero is highly significant(1% confidence level), as is the difference between the percentage of boys and girls wanting to becomeprofessional athletes.36When asked to name her sporting hero, one clever girl responded: “Why do you want to know?You don’t know him. He’s my coach!”DISCRIMINATION IN SPORTKING BAUDOUIN FOUNDATION19