Insurer publishes sports accident statistics
This sport poses the highest risk
June 11, 2026 – 11:00 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Sport is healthy, but there is always a risk of injury. New statistics show that three sports are responsible for almost 60 percent of all sports accidents.
The insurer Ergo has published its latest sports accident statistics just in time for the Football World Cup, which begins this Thursday. This shows that most serious sports accidents occur on the football field.
Of the 6,487 sports accidents reported to the insurer, 2,308 were in the number one popular sport – this corresponds to 35.6 percent of all reported damage. Last year the share of football was even 50.4 percent.
Football is considered a high-risk sport due to the quick changes of direction, high intensity and intense duels. However, the high number of accidents is primarily due to its great popularity: more than eight million people are members of a football club.
Lack of snow indirectly makes skiing more dangerous
Skiing (including skibob) comes in second place in the sports accident statistics with a total of 1,001 cases. This corresponds to 15.4 percent of all accidents and therefore 7.8 percentage points more than in 2024. One of the reasons for the high number of injuries: the increasingly mild winters. In many places there is now a lack of natural snow, which is being replaced by artificial snow in many ski areas. This makes the slopes significantly harder and faster. “On the other hand, the risk of injury also increases on the edges of the slopes if the skiable areas are narrowed due to the lack of snow,” writes Ergo. The result: falls and collisions.
The risk of injury when cycling has become significantly lower. The number of reported bicycle accidents fell by 15.4 percent compared to the previous year. The insurer suspects the decline could be due to improved safety equipment for many cyclists. They want to keep an eye on developments in the coming years.
| sport | Accidents | Portion |
|---|---|---|
| football | 2,308 | 35.6% |
| Ski sports (including skibob) | 1,001 | 15.4% |
| Ride a bike | 579 | 8.9% |
| Handball | 189 | 2.9% |
| Equestrian sports (including polo) | 162 | 2.5% |
| volleyball | 145 | 2.2% |
| basketball | 133 | 2.1% |
| tennis | 80 | 1.2% |
| Ice skating | 65 | 1.0% |
| Water sports (including water polo) | 60 | 0.9% |
These three sports are responsible for almost 60 percent of all accidents. Little has changed on the other courts over the past ten years – the sports with the most accidents in 2025 were largely the same as in 2016. New sports, such as padel tennis, are only slowly moving forward in the accident statistics.
However, many sports accidents can be avoided with a few easy-to-implement precautions. This includes:
- Warm up and stretch before training
- Appropriate protective clothing such as a helmet or protectors
- Sufficient breaks and regeneration
- Consideration for teammates and other sports participants
