Is Sport in Malta Becoming a Privilege? The Socioeconomic Divide Holding Back Our Children

When you picture the future of Maltese sport, do you imagine a wide talent pool where every child has an equal shot at success — or a narrowing lane, where opportunity is quietly reserved for those who can afford it?

A recent Maltese study by Stephania Dimech and Matthew Muscat-Inglott has sounded the alarm: a child’s family income and parents’ education significantly influence their participation in sport — even in relatively affluent households. And in a country as small as Malta, that’s a problem we can’t afford to ignore.

What the research found

• Higher income and education = more sport: Higher socioeconomic status, including household income and parents’ educational level, explained up to 7% of the variation in how often children participated in organised sport.

• Family activity is also linked to class: Higher socioeconomic status families spent more time being active together, reinforcing the advantages their children already had.

• SportMalta’s role matters: Lower-income families were more aware of SportMalta programmes, suggesting they are a key bridge to access — but higher-income families were less likely to use them.

• Gender gap still alive: Boys played about one extra sport session per week compared to girls, echoing long-standing gender inequalities in sport participation.

• Full-time working mothers? No effect: The study found no significant link between a mother’s full-time work status and a child’s sport participation or physical activity levels.

Why this matters for Malta

In a larger country, losing a few potential athletes due to socioeconomic barriers is unfortunate but survivable. In Malta, with a population of just over half a million, every child left out means a smaller pool of talent for future national teams. Add to this our already alarming childhood obesity rates (around 40%), and the stakes climb even higher — not just for sport performance, but for public health.

Small nations cannot afford to layer more restrictions — whether class, gender, or geography — on who gets to play sport.

The takeaway

If sport in Malta is to thrive, it must be inclusive. This means:

• Targeting policies that remove cost barriers and increase community access to facilities.

• Proactively tackling gender disparities in participation.

• Strengthening partnerships between schools, community clubs, and SportMalta to ensure that every child — regardless of postcode or parent’s payslip — has a fair shot.

Because when sport becomes a privilege, the whole nation loses.

References

Dimech, S., & Muscat-Inglott, M. (2023). Exploring the relationship between socioeconomic status and sport participation in Maltese children: A cross-sectional short survey of mothers in relatively affluent households. Journal of Theory and Practice in Sport, 2(1), 1-22.