Swedish sports clubs are becoming more concerned with how to attract young people to participate in organized sports. Young people with low socio-economic status and individuals with ethnic background are especially in mind as it has become clear that these individuals are excluded in the various activities of sports clubs. The aim of this study was to examine the possible obstacles for young adolescents to participate in organized sports. By identifying the visible and invisible obstacles through a gender- and socio-cultural perspective the four research questions were examined. The questions concerned within this qualitative study was how accessibility was described by the respondents; how the obstacles to participate in organized sport were experienced by the respondents; how the difference in sport participation was explained by the respondents from a cultural and socio-economic perspective and; how the differences in sport participation were explained by the respondents from a gender perspective. Through six focus groups encompassing 16 individuals between the age of 14–20 years old a Bourdieu approach was applied in order to interpret the content of the responses. The results showed that the youth experienced obstacles to participate in sport in two different ways. One was described as the physical means of being able to get access to sport which was transportation facilities, sports fees and costs for equipment. The other form of obstacle was described as underlying factors such as norms and expectations regarding participation in organized sports and a lack of perceived sense of belonging. Cultural background and gender were discussed as the two most contributing factors as to why some of the youth are not participating in organized sports. Swedish sports clubs should focus on how to include the youth needs into their day-to-day work rather than ensuring their participation in their current offered activities.

Physical inactivity is a growing concern among adolescents, which is the fundamental issue addressed in this study. The purpose of this study was to gain more knowledge about adolescents’ physical activity habits and the factors that influence physical activity. The study was based on a questionnaire consisting of 23 questions. The participants were 149 upper secondary school pupils between 15-19 years old from Östersund who studied both theoretically and practically oriented programs. Based on the World Health Organization [WHO] recommendations on physical activity the adolescents were categorized as active and inactive, and then compared with various background factors that previous research has demonstrated as being important determinants of physical activity. These factors were socioeconomic background, parental influence, sex and ethnicity. The results showed that most active adolescents are also active in sports clubs (p <0.05), has the highest final grade in the subject physical education and health in school year 9 (p <0.05), attends a theoretical program (p <0, 05), has a high educational capital (p <0.05), has a high sporting capital (p <0.05), is more motivated to physical activity (p <0.05) and have more support from their parents (p <0.05). The results was discussed by using the framework suggested by Bourdieu, habitus and capital.