The case for a national sports database
Nobody knows how many registered athletes the country has, or how many pitches. Policy is made on anecdote.
Ask the national sports council how many swimming pools meet competition standard and you will get a guess. Ask how many children play organised sport and you will get a shrug.
National Olympic committees elsewhere use registration data to argue for funding and to find talent. Without it the argument is made by whoever shouts loudest. [1]
A census of facilities
The statistics office counts households, schools and health posts. Adding sports grounds to the next round would cost little and settle a great deal. [2]
- Tagged
- sports policy
- data
References
- 1.
Olympic results and medallists. International Olympic Committee, 2024.
- 2.
National Population and Housing Census 2021: National Report. National Statistics Office, March 2023.
Cite this story
Dispatch Report (2025) ‘The case for a national sports database’, 1 February. Available at: https://thedispatchreport.com/article/the-case-for-a-national-sports-database (Accessed: 5 October 2026).
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