Sport is often seen as an indicator of the civic maturity of a community, an aspect of the rights of citizens to health, education and social integration. This book examines the relationships between participation in sport and physical activity, and welfare policies across Europe. It argues that the success of campaigns for the promotion of sport depend on the existence of dedicated welfare policies promoted by the European states and explores variations in cultural models and structures of governance across Europe. Addressing the function of supranational institutions such as the EU as well as voluntary networks, the book illuminates key issues in European societies such as migration, financial austerity and Brexit as they relate to sport policy. This is important reading for scholars and students in the fields of European sport and physical activity, sociology, political science and organisational analysis, as well as operators and managers of the sport systems involved in advanced training programmes.

This book analyses the increasing use of sport in European and Western welfare states as a tool of social policy and its promotion as a solution to social problems. Midnight Football is a sports-based intervention targeting social inclusion and crime prevention in young people aged 12–25 in Sweden. This book takes a close look at its organization, pedagogy and potential outcomes. Drawing on cutting-edge research into Midnight Football in Sweden, and exploring other community sport programmes including Midnight Basketball in the United States, this book shines new light on broader social transformations regarding urban segregation and social exclusion, social policy and the governing of welfare and social policy. This book also offers new perspectives on how sport and the lives of young people intersect with and shape broader shifts in welfare and social policy in Western states, shifts that are manifested in increased inequality, social polarization and profound changes in urban geographies. This is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in the relationships between sport and wider society, or in sport development, sport policy, social policy, public policy or youth and social work.

This is the first book to investigate the significance of Brexit for sport, with a particular focus on the regulatory and legal challenges that it poses, and the economic and political stresses that are likely to follow in its wake. Written by a team of leading researchers working across sport studies, legal studies and political science, and edited by an EU official with nearly two decades of experience working in EU sport policy, the book explains why regulation, and European dis-integration, matter to sport. It examines key topics including free movement, state aid and labour law, and considers the interests of key stakeholders from fans to football clubs to governing bodies. This is an essential reference for any advanced student, researcher, policy maker, administrator or industry professional working in sport, international law, political science, or international business and management.

This book examines sport as an inclusive and developmental environment, exploring the conditions by which community sport initiatives can promote personal development, health and social cohesion, particularly for at-risk youth. At the empirical core of the book is a multiple disciplinary study of community sport programmes in Flanders, Belgium, involving researchers from social sport sciences, social work, pedagogy and health care sciences. Drawing on this cutting-edge, realist research, the book considers the implications for sport development policy and practice around the world. The book considers community sport as a vehicle for promoting social inclusion, and the ways it allows people of all backgrounds and abilities to participate and access social and health benefits, whilst touching on key issues including monitoring and evaluation; exercise and health; youth welfare, and volunteering. This book is a fascinating reading for any student, researcher or practitioner working in sport for development, sport management, sport coaching, social work, education, sociology or urban studies.

This is the first book to critically examine the relationship between running events in local, national and international welfare policy, their marketing and management, and the resulting social impacts. Drawing on original empirical research, the book presents a series of illustrative case studies, with each chapter containing take-home messages for sport and events managers looking to improve their professional practice. Developing a new theoretical perspective on running events, the book presents data from around the world, including five European countries, the US and China. It covers different types of events, from big city marathons to community park runs, and new types of events such as path and trail runs, night runs, ultra runs, extreme runs and obstacle runs, presenting a typology of running events that will help shape the future analysis of this rapidly growing sector. The book also examines the market for running events, runners’ socio-demographic profiles, the main management and marketing approaches and techniques used by organisers, and the socio-economic impacts of running events, such as the effect on people’s attitudes and behaviours, organisational planning, city promotion and social interactions. Running events are central to sport at all levels, from grassroots to professional, so this book is essential reading for any student, researcher or practitioner working in sport management, sport development, sport policy, the sociology of sport or event studies.

This book brings together essays analyzing the impact of sport and physical activity on psychophysical well-being and quality of life, through multidisciplinary and multi-country studies. It discusses how the commercial dimension of sport entertainment and recreational dimension of sport practice have been increasingly brought together in discussions on individual health and well-being, and social integration and participation. It therefore considers the relationship between sports practice, enjoyment of sporting events, sport participation and quality of life. The chapters examine various aspects of the practice of sport for professional and recreational purposes from the perspective of age, life course research, physical education in schools, government investment in sport activities across various stages of life, the rise of sports tourism as a global industry and how social networks and web apps are changing the perception of fitness. This innovative book is of interest to scholars and students of sport science, leisure studies, and well-being research.

This book examines how different stages of adult life affect participation in lifestyle sports and in the construction of identity. Drawing on multi-disciplinary perspectives, it explores how gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and location, in conjunction with age and stage in career, affect lifestyle sport practices and meanings. Tracing engagement with lifestyle sport across the lifecourse, from young adult to older age, the book examines the concepts of authenticity and identity in subcultural and alternative sports, exploring how individuals develop lifestyle sport identities, maintain authentic identities, and how they manage those identities as older adults. It presents a range of fascinating, cutting-edge case studies from around the world, covering sports as diverse as climbing, surfing, mountain biking, skateboarding and roller derby, and considers key contemporary issues such as professionalisation, sports labor, and digital technology. It also highlights political tensions and shifts that shape the identities of lifestyle sport communities. This is essential reading for anybody with a serious interest in alternative or lifestyle sports, the relationships between sport and wider society, or the development of subcultures and cultural identity.

This book is the first of its kind to discuss doping within Non-Olympic Sports. Sports like American football, cricket and dance sports have, in recent years, been in the news for doping activities. The scale of the incidents may differ in each of these sports, but they present interesting questions about the legitimacy of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code. Doping in Non-Olympic Sports: Challenging the legitimacy of WADA? argues against the International Olympic Committee (IOC)-run regime where WADA Code compliance is used as the only parameter to define an activity as a sport. The book argues that the definition of modern sport is based on certain factors identified through sociological and historical research. These parameters are common across the board and do not distinguish between Olympic and Non-Olympic sports. However, the use of the word Olympic in the Non-Olympic sport terminology subjects such sports to IOC dictates. Consequently, the IOC exploits its monopoly over the word Olympics to insist on WADA Code compliances. The numerous instances of doping, as reported, go on to prove that WADA is turning a blind eye to these Non-Olympic sports. This book is the first to dissect the issue of doping within Non-Olympic sports and questions the very idea of WADA compliance as a condition precedent to defining sports going on to highlight the inbuilt inequity within the existing anti-doping system wherein a private regime is usurping the State’s discretion. The new, cutting edge research book is key reading for academics and researchers in the fields of Coaching, Sport Pharmacology, Sport Medicine, Sports Law, and the related disciplines.

While football does not generate discriminatory behaviour, it often replicates the very same social issues that concern any given society. Evidently, football has witnessed an alarming increase in the number of disturbing incidents on the grounds of racism, ethnocentrism, sectarianism, homophobia, and sexism. Given the variety of forms that discrimination can take, it is imperative that football addresses with effect all such anti-social phenomena in order to continue to promote notions pertaining to social inclusion, equality, and cultural diversity – all central to the game’s philosophy and overall popularity. Assessing the nature and causes of discrimination in football is key to identifying the much-needed remedies, but also because discrimination poses a serious challenge to long-established practices deeply rooted in democracy. Discrimination in Football provides a comprehensive and in-depth investigation into these key issues affecting football today. This new book will appeal to academics and students with an interest in social science, law, sport, and humanities as well as football fans and professionals in the football industry.

This book assesses the transformation of football fan culture from a gender perspective. Referring to the notions of homosociality, hegemonic masculinity and performative perspectives on gender and fandom, it investigates the processes of women entering the world of football fandom. Drawing on multidimensional qualitative and quantitative research, the book analyses different aspects of female fandom, such as women’s socialisation to be a fan, building their sense of fan identity, ways of performing fandom, and gender. Also, it explores the response of male fans by shedding light on the sense-making process of a growing number of female fans in the stands and its consequences for prevailingly male football culture. This study stands out for its richness and diversity of empirical material used in order to make a significant contribution to our understanding of social dynamics related to the changing nature of female football fandom. The book is fascinating reading for researchers and students in a broad range of areas, including gender studies, sociology of sport, football, women’s studies and Central Eastern European studies. It is also a valuable resource for scholars, and football and club authorities who have an interest in understanding the development of female football fandom and its impact on the male fandom community.