A survey carried out by NSO among 560 sports clubs across Malta and Gozo during 2008, revealed that these clubs had 74,561 members, or an average of 133 members per club.

During the year under review, the number of active sports clubs in Malta and Gozo stood at 560. Football clubs, including nurseries, accounted for the majority of sports clubs and totalled 151, or 27 per cent. These were followed by martial arts and diving clubs, with a share of 16 per cent of the total.

The total number of sports club members, including unpaid participants, stood at 74,561, of whom almost 80 per cent were males. Football clubs were popular among men (38 per cent), while females preferred diving and water sports with 20 and 14 per cent respectively.

Paid employment in sports clubs stood at 1,446. Most of these workers (86 per cent) were employed on a part-time basis. The largest share of paid employees in these sports clubs were males, the majority of whom were engaged as training staff, including coaches and instructors. It emerged that a significant amount of work conducted within these sports clubs is being done on voluntary basis. In fact, the number of voluntary workers amounted to 4,664, three times as much as the number of paid employees. Nearly 90 per cent of the voluntary workers were males.

These sports clubs reported a total income of €15.0 million during 2008, or an average of €26,801 per club. The main income components were services provided (such as sports facilities) and membership fees, representing 28 per cent and 21 per cent of the total income respectively. Total recurrent expenditure for the year under review stood at €15.6 million, of which €6.6 million (42 per cent) were spent on staff wages and salaries.

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