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Youth participation in organised team sports has declined steadily across several high-income countries over the past two decades, even as interest in individual fitness activities, such as running and home-based exercise, has risen sharply. Surveys conducted in a range of national contexts point to a consistent set of explanations. First, the increasing specialisation and competitiveness of youth leagues has raised the financial and time costs of participation, as families are pressured to enrol children in private coaching and travel squads from an early age, effectively pricing out lower-income households. Second, unstructured free play, historically a route through which children discovered a sport organically, has diminished as school recess periods shortened and neighbourhood outdoor play declined amid safety concerns among parents. Third, the proliferation of screen-based entertainment, including video games and social media, has captured leisure hours previously devoted to physical activity, particularly among adolescents. The consequences extend beyond fitness metrics. Sports sociologists note that team participation has traditionally served as a vehicle for social cohesion, conflict resolution, and the development of cooperative skills among young people from varied backgrounds, functions that individual fitness pursuits do not readily replicate. Some community organisations have attempted to counter the decline by offering subsidised, non-competitive recreational leagues aimed explicitly at inclusion rather than talent development, with early results suggesting modestly improved retention among participants who had previously dropped out due to cost or performance anxiety. Nonetheless, funding for such programmes remains inconsistent, often dependent on local government budgets that fluctuate with broader economic conditions. Public health officials increasingly frame the decline in team sport participation not merely as a recreational trend but as a contributing factor in rising sedentary behaviour and social isolation among young people, arguing that reversing it requires deliberate investment in accessible, low-pressure sporting infrastructure rather than reliance on market-driven, competition-oriented youth sport models.