UK Hockey: Why the Cold Shoulder?
Lonzo Stark
2025-04-12 06:35:15
Count answers: 2
A high financial barrier is one of the primary reasons for ice hockey’s low popularity amongst other sports in the UK. The prices of the playing equipment are through the roof, and getting ice time is even more expensive because there are limited ice rinks in the UK. Fewer people have a chance to play ice hockey. Consequently, there are fewer grassroots teams. Fewer people share a connection with the sport.
Undoubtedly, sports betting is a vital aspect of British sports culture. This excitement is evident in the number of new gaming sites UK players have access to every day. This lack of betting opportunities makes ice hockey less prevalent in the UK.
People are simply more fond of other sports like football and rugby than ice hockey. Of course, this fondness can be linked to the ease of access and cost of participation.
Ice hockey’s declining popularity compared to other sports in the UK can also be attributed to a lack of media coverage and awareness. There’s no major television broadcasting deal for the UK Elite Ice Hockey League. As a result, the games are not reaching a wider audience.
Meggie Harvey
2025-04-08 02:12:56
Count answers: 2
Ice hockey is clearly more visible to the masses with huge television coverage across the globe. The NHL makes it easy for spectators to tune in and for betting companies to increase the sport’s popularity. The NHL received its first TV deal to show live games in Canada and the USA in 1992, and the media coverage has grown exponentially since then.
With TV deals comes revenue for the league, which means the best players in the game all flock to the USA and Canada rather than top leagues in countries who pay smaller wages. The average salary for a field hockey player in the UK is less than £2000 per month, whereas the average NHL contract is worth a reported $3 million per year. Field hockey has not had the same appeal to TV sponsors and as a result, the money has not been ploughed into the sport to increase its popularity or talent pool.
The pace of the game is a key differential with ice hockey played at a frenetic pace. Players will also experience a brute physicality (that’s why they wear so much protective padding) which isn’t experienced by their field-based equivalents.
Cora Metz
2025-03-25 05:29:30
Count answers: 5
Ice hockey is, by far, the most popular indoor spectator sport in the country. Yet, unlike all of the above the game didn’t get a mention on the BBC website, or any national newspapers. There is a bit of TV coverage on a well-hidden satellite channel, but you’d be hard pressed to find out how your local team got on last weekend without visiting their social media.
But, does the fact that ice hockey (and these other less visible sports) is so under the radar of the general population mean these athletes are less desirable? Possibly. LAPS can’t change the profile of a sport, but we do make sure we highlight the achievements and skills of our members, whichever sport they come from.
Athena Torphy
2025-03-25 05:16:16
Count answers: 5
Even in the UK, where field hockey has a long university tradition, it’s not among the most popular sports. Also, knowing that British men’s and women’s field hockey teams have won three and one Olympics golds, respectively, one might think that Britons are into this sport. However, if you take a look at sports TV programmes or visit the most popular sport-related websites, you’ll see that field hockey is nowhere near football or cricket. For most Brits, going through a reviewed UK betting sites list is the farthest they get in terms of both online and offline field hockey activities, but it’s still not a popular sport to bet on compared to football or horse racing.
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