According to the latest figures from INSEE, Hauts-de-France is struggling to reach the penultimate place of the French regions issuing the most sports licenses. If football remains the star discipline, the region is distinguished by its hockey and sand yachting enthusiasts. Zoom, in graphics, on sports practice in Hauts-de-France.
This is a mixed result for the region. The latest figures from INSEE place Hauts-de-France in penultimate place among the regions issuing the most sports licenses in mainland France. In 2022, there will be 840 000 annual sports licenses which were provided by 8 300 clubs. An average of 142 licenses for 1 000 inhabitants compared to 157 per thousand at the national level.
And these numbers are falling. Between 2017 and 2022, the region records a drop of 0.3% in the issuance of licenses. But that does not prevent the North of France from being a region of enthusiasts.
It is quite simply the most popular discipline in the region. Football represents more than a quarter of the licenses taken in Hauts-de-France (27.5%). But other disciplines are not left out: tennis, horse riding, basketball and judo attract northern athletes.
The 5 most popular sports in Hauts-de-France according to the number of licenses they issue
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© Anaïs Denis / FTV
However, each department in the region knows how to be passionate about their own disciplines. The North is the department with the most hockey licenses, while Pas-de-Calais stands out in sand yachting. The beaches of the Côte d’Opale are a wonderful playground. More surprisingly, the Somme is passionate about long palm. Both an individual and team sport, the games of this traditional Picardy sport pit two teams against each other around a center line. This racket sport is similar to tennis and tennis, but is played on very large courts of 60 to 80 meters long.
In its latest report, INSEE thus manages to draw up a composite portrait of athletes in Hauts-de-France. Depending on their age and gender, passions diverge. Throughout their lives, northerners hold licenses in a variety of sports; gymnastics, horse riding and hiking are particularly popular among women. However, it is judo, football and golf that attract men.
Around the thirties, when men become passionate about football, women turn to horse riding
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© Léa Houël / FTV
These gender differences are also reflected in the number of licenses issued. Only 31% of licenses are held by women in Hauts-de-France.
In a hundred days, the Olympic Games will begin in Paris. But Hauts-de-France will also host its share of events: handball and basketball. France will thus become the showcase of sport for two weeks.
There is an urgent need to adopt less sedentary, more active lifestyles, in a context of ever-increasing screen addiction.
According to a national survey on physical and sporting practices, four in five French people aged over 15 declare having exercised a sporting activity in 2020. In Hauts-de-France, only 61% of inhabitants practice a weekly sporting activity. That is 4 points less than the national average which is 65%. Health Insurance reminds that there is ” urgency to adopt less sedentary, more active lifestyles, in a context of ever-increasing screen addiction“, while “inactivity is today the cause of 9% of deaths in France.“
