The sixth edition of the Sports Survey conducted by the sports advisory team at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the well-known audit and consulting group, is more optimistic than the fifth, released at the height of the coronavirus pandemic last year, which predicted three-to-five-year growth of just 3.3 per cent per annum.

It may hence signal some restoration of equilibrium in the sector, in spite of other major challenges which face it, ranging from financing questions to media disruption.

Europe and Australasia were the least optimistic regions this time, forecasting average annual growth of 4.2 per cent and 4.0 per cent respectively.

By contrast, growth in the Americas was expected to be strong, at 7.4 per cent in the north and 8.6 per cent in the south.

Asia’s growth prospects over the three-to-five-year horizon were put at 5.8 per cent per annum, with the next Winter Olympics due to take place in the region, in Beijing, in less than five months' time.

Betting-related rights are seen as the most buoyant revenue stream in the near term, with expected annual growth projected at 6.4 per cent against 3.9 per cent for merchandising and sponsorship, 3.2 per cent for media rights and just 2.5 per cent for ticketing and hospitality.

Betting’s positive outlook is in part a consequence of the opening of the United States sports betting market following the lifting of a federal ban.

David Dellea, head of PwC’s Sports Business Advisory, spoke of a "challenging but exciting time", where, he said, "multiple forces” were "converging towards rebuilding a better sports industry".

He urged sports organisations to "frontally embrace societal challenges".

The latest survey was conducted between June and August 2021 via an online questionnaire.

The study, entitled Sports Industry: Ready for Recovery? can be downloaded here.