Across the summer, we’ve been launching a wide-ranging series of reports into the next generation of sports fans in 11 markets around the world – including the U.S.

Based on exclusive polling among 15-25-year-olds, the reports aim to reveal the habits and behaviors of the next generation of sports fans. The U.S. has thrown up some interesting anomalies.

Let’s start with what first made young Americans to be fans.

Young Americans are much more likely than the all-market average to say that family influence first made them a fan (23% vs 18%). Delve a little deeper and you’ll find that it’s American women who are disproportionately driving this difference – 31% cite family, compared to 17% of men.

School or community participation is also a powerful driver for girls and women, who are twice as likely to cite this factor as men (14% vs 7%). Men and boys are more likely to over-index on media coverage as a source of fandom.

What motivates young Americans to continue to be fans?

It’s also worth looking at the white paper to unearth some interesting facts around what continues to motivate young Americans to be fans (as opposed to what started them on their journey). There are three outliers here.

• Young Americans are the least likely to say that nationalism or patriotism is a driver for the fandom. Only 7% cite it as a factor, compared to 12% for the all-markets average.
• Young Americans are more likely than people in all markets but one to say that continuing the family tradition is a reason for continued fandom. Nineteen percent say so, compared to an all-markets average of 14%.
• Young Americans are more likely than respondents in any other market to say that betting continues to motivate their fandom. Thirteen percent say so, compared to just 8% of all markets.

What else sets young American sports fans apart?

One more outlier I wanted to point out to encourage you to download the report. Young U.S. sports fans are the most likely of all respondents to say they like to watch highlights. Three in ten say so, putting them ten points over the all-market average. They also under-index on other formats. Which ones? Download the report to find out.

The U.S. white paper also covers:

• The sports which young people have ever played, played now and are fans of
• The sports which are best at converting young people from playing to being a fan
• The reasons people quit playing a sport
• The fan intensity of young people across our markets
• The factors that make young people fans and the reasons they stay fans
• The types of sport content they prefer, the platforms they use to consume them and how often they do so
• The sponsorship categories they can authentic in sport
• Their appetite for more sport – and the factors that will encourage them