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Inequality in sport and physical activity has become a significant focus of interest in sports policy, especially since the mid-2010s following the reforms of the Sports Act and the Equality Act. Physical activity is important for the well-being of children and adolescents, and leisure activities can be interpreted as a fundamental social and cultural right. This study addresses inequality in physical activity by examining how the family’s economic situation is related to children’s and adolescents’ physical activity and sports participation. We based our study on Göran Therborn’s (2014) conceptual analysis of inequality, which highlights three dimensions of inequality: existential, material resources, and vital inequality. The family’s economic situation was examined using FAS-III variables, which are used in the international HBSC study. Sport and physical activity was studied through, first, the amount of physical activity and second, in terms of involvement in different physical activity contexts: leisure club activities, sports club activities, private sector services, and self-organised physical activity. The data is drawn from the national study on ‘Children’s and Adolescents’ Physical Activity Behavior in Finland’ (LIITU study), with 7209 respondents from grades 3 to 9. The association between the family’s economic situation and physical activity and sports participation was examined statistically. The results indicate that the family’s economic situation is related to both the amount of physical activity and participation in clubs, sports clubs, private sector services, and self-organised physical activity, with the highest level of physical activity and participation observed among children in the highest economic group. Therefore, sports policy should pay more attention to issues of economic inequality.
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