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The interaction between sports and politics has extensively contributed to shaping the sports system, which is evident in the creation of sports facilities and institutions in Hungary. The legal framework of sports organizations, potential of elite and grassroots athletes, incorporation of Hungarian sports into the international sports structure, and public financial funding of physical activity have been dependent on the dominant political powers and existing international diplomatic relationships. The history of sports facility development in Budapest and the role of capital in organising international sporting events faced new political challenges after World War II. During the socialist era, the main role of sports was to prove the excellence of the socialist system; therefore, political leadership provided funds to create a suitable environment for top athletes to train and compete. After the political and economic transition of 1989–1990, sports encountered the challenges of an unfamiliar market economy. After a decade of adaptation, from the beginning of the twenty-first century, sports assumed a new strategic role in creating a healthier society, which included significant investments in Budapest's sports infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between women's sports, female physical education, and liberal reformism is pivotal to understanding gender relations in Colombia from 1930 to 1946. The Liberal Republic was a political period when public officials placed cultural reforms at the centre of governmental attempts to 'transform' and 'modernise' Colombia. Print media, official correspondence, and legislation are crucial to grasping women's reactions to the advancement of female physical culture and how they publicly advocated for its implementation. The endeavours of the Liberal Republic to promote physical culture at the national level highlight the way in which their reformism worked in everyday life and uncover how female educators and sports enthusiasts discussed and embraced the government's initiatives from below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, often misunderstood as a reflection of the nationalist hyper-patriotism of the Reagan Era, were in fact a crucial moment in building a neoliberal, global Los Angeles. Tracing the development of LA'84's Olympic look 'festive federalism', this article considers the ways in which organizers in fact made strenuous efforts not to associate the Games with the nation state. It argues that festive federalism – the name given to the colour scheme and iconography of LA'84 design – was more than just an Olympic look. Rather, it was a neoliberal aesthetic, a philosophy for confronting economic challenges posed by local racial contexts. Festive federalism celebrated diversity and colourblindness simultaneously and extolled the neoliberal virtues of individualism, competition, and self-reliance. In doing so, it nullified the risk posed to the Games' profitability by race-based demands in communities of colour nearby to Olympic venues. In place of race, festive federalism called for a new type of individualistic, post-racial citizen-consumer. Analyzing the application of festive federalism to the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, this article demonstrates how culture redefined race, national identity, and history for a new, neoliberal age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the institutional development of the Olympic movement in the Philippines from the American period to the contemporary era as it operates within the values of 'Excellence, Respect and Friendship' of Olympism. Using Bowen's document analysis as a qualitative tool, the paper highlights the institutional changes and policy reforms in the Philippine sports governance in the development of the Olympic movement with emphasis on the promotion of athlete welfare in the Philippines. As an added dimension, the paper offers a passing review of the recent Olympic athletes' protest in the Philippines and analyses the underlying assumptions of Filipino athletes' passivity on social issues. Furthermore, the paper examines the significance of the Philippines Olympic Committee (POC) Athletes' Commission in addressing the athletes' rights and welfare as it interrelates and aligns itself with the goals and objectives of the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission. More importantly, the paper proposes an Input-Process-Output-Outcome/Result (IPOOR) Model to measure the success of the POC Athletes' Commission qualitatively in terms of the three levels of analysis espoused by the IOC Athlete's Commission namely, input, output, and results, as ways forward in the promotion and development of the strategies, programmes, and projects of the Philippine Olympic movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Second World War, sports communities in the areas incorporated into Poland became more active. The influx of settlers led to the creation of new organizations, which were based on prewar organizational patterns and traditions. Right from the outset, the People's Government utilized athletes for political and propaganda purposes. This was primarily aimed at integrating the 'Recovered Territories' with the rest of the country, a process that unfolded notably in Szczecin, the main urban center in Western Pomerania. The governing power harnessed the enthusiasm and zeal of the youth, along with the belief that sports are apolitical. Following the adaptation of the organizational structure of sports to the Soviet model, the mass indoctrination of sports communities commenced in 1950. The Communists began leveraging activists and athletes without constraints to promote a new ideology, with the goal of aligning society with the state policy of that era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 triggered widespread reactions. The global call for the isolation of Russia and its collaborator Belarus has also involved the world of sport, leading to the expulsion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions. The decisions leading to the expulsion were analyzed from the perspective of their factors, timing, and the international sports organizations' (ISOs) traditional approach to mixing sport and politics. During these developments, various stakeholders have been exerting pressure on the ISOs by voicing their expectations towards sanctioning Russia and even using the threat of boycott. Multiple Streams Framework has been employed in an attempt to understand the decision-making processes of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), demonstrating that external pressure has played the overriding role in the process leading to the isolation of Russia and Belarus in international sport, marking the continuation of the recent evolution of ISOs' approach to the interconnection between politics and sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the mass sport policy in Brazil established during the government regime of the Military Dictatorship. To conduct this research, journals, newspapers and official documents produced between the 1970s and 1980s were used. Conclusively, the article indicates that the Sport for All policy in Brazil, created in the context of the emergence of the leisure field in the country, contributed to the consolidation of the mass sports policy, which was fundamentally essential for the insertion of sport as a social right in the 1988 constitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) promoted 'mass sports and physical culture' (qunzhong tiyu) to justify its political claims and serve socialist construction. The relative ease of promoting its easily amendable forms and collective spirit earned mass callisthenics a distinctive role in Maoist physical culture. Much energy went into the distinctive creation of what became Mao-era China's (1949-1976) two most pervasive and significantly symbolic forms of mass callisthenics: broadcast callisthenics (guangbo ticao) and production callisthenics (shengchan cao). However, this development was inundated with twists and turns for the CCP, sports leaders and experts, and ordinary participants due to the Party's ambivalent egalitarian politics, which relied heavily on mass mobilization and revered proletarian expertise, reflecting its complicated and divided interpretation of the Soviet model and its recollection of its own revolutionary legacy. Through an analysis of abundant central and local materials, this article tells the unheeded story of mass callisthenics, which was a miniature of the contested anti-elitism movements of Mao-era China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joining the Olympic Movement provides smaller countries with material and symbolic benefits. The Olympic Games represent a unique symbolic stage for national recognition and identity construction. Resource-poor countries can also access sport development funding programmes. However, participation in the international sport system comes at the price of a 'coercive policy transfer'. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) requires countries to subscribe to a western sport system that includes 'sports autonomy' as a key governance principle, which restricts the discretion of national governments. Previous scholarship suggests that coercive policy transfers can create institutional and policy misfits, which inspire translation and customisation on behalf of the receiving countries. The current paper investigates the interactions between public authorities and the National Olympic Committee of Botswana, which has been imposed by the IOC as an autonomous organisation. The study of three policy processes suggests that the interactions between the National Olympic Committee and governmental authorities are shaped by a persistent institutional misfit and organisational rivalries, which are only manageable because all actors in Botswana sport policy-making share a common interest in increasing national sporting success. At the same time, it is hard to assess to what extent the coercive policy transfer has improved policy development and implementation in Botswana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent events such as the exclusion of Russian teams from international competitions following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, as well as the debate on Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup, have once again reignited the debate over the relationship between sport and politics. From athletes displaying political symbols to states vying to exclude their rivals from major tournaments, the strong connection between sport and politics in the international arena is evident. International Sport Organisations (ISOs) play a central role in connecting the global sport arena and the international system. Larger international organisations (and particularly mega international sports organisations such as the International Olympic Committee and FIFA), despite their claim to neutrality, are important political actors that frequently use their influence and leverage in the international arena. In particular, the significant role played by FIFA in the politics of World Cup bids and its recent involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian issue demonstrates the impossibility of being politically neutral as an ISO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical literacy is a key focus within physical education and sport policy and practice in Canada. Although physical literacy has been suggested to benefit the general population, the experiences of Indigenous peoples are noticeably absent in the physical literacy literature. To facilitate meaningful and inclusive sport policies and programmes in Canada, it is necessary to develop a physical literacy evidence-base that is grounded in the voices of Indigenous peoples. The purpose of this research was to explore Indigenous peoples' perspectives of physical literacy. Two research questions were used to guide the research process: (a) how do Indigenous coaches, educators, and youth mentors understand physical literacy?, and (b) what is the role of Indigenous coaches, educators, and youth mentors in facilitating physical literacy among Indigenous youth? Eleven Indigenous educators, coaches, and youth mentors served as collaborators in this community-based participatory research. One-on-one and sharing circle interviews were used to generate data. Collaborators' understandings of physical literacy, and their role in facilitating physical literacy among Indigenous youth, are represented by five themes: (a) wisdom sharing (b) being mindful in teachings, (c) youth-centered approaches, (d) culture and spirituality as part of being active for life, and (e) relational support. Findings from this research contributes to a more in-depth understanding of physical literacy in the research literature, and how the concept is understood in practice. Importantly, findings from this research highlight several suggestions for facilitating physical literacy among Indigenous youth that may support future physical education and sport initiatives that are inclusive of, and meaningful to, Indigenous youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this article will be sport predicated on contests between nation-states, or what we will call inter-national sport, at the elite level. While much literature on the politics of sport has focused on the proper role of the nation-state in regards to specific sport issues, few have questioned whether elite sport ought to involve nationalism as part of its competition. Most who have defended such sport argue that the benefits of nationalism and the national identity outweigh any potential unintended harm. In this article, we question these conclusions by arguing that both lusory and ethical considerations undermine elite sport’s emphasis on inter-national contests. We will be trying to argue that these artifacts no longer should play a primary role in determining eligibility or serving as the basis for determining competitive sides. We will make this argument by focusing on the ethical dilemmas posed specifically by inter-national competition including international discord and reduced quality of competition. We also argue that promoting national differences does not serve a useful lusory role in elite sport. However, we will concede that Morgan’s respect for the narratives associated with sport indicate that national identity may continue playing a limited role in elite sporting contests. So while we make an exception for a soft national cultural narrative, we conclude that such arguments taken together indicate that national identities ought to have a much diminished role, if any at all, in elite sport. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since Pierre de Coubertin's revival of the modern Olympic games, the state of California has hosted the Olympics three times and is currently preparing for the games in Los Angeles in 2028. This paper attempts to add to the history of California's Olympic legacy by examining the period prior to 1896 and demonstrating that the Olympic idea had been firmly rooted in California long before the revival of the modern Olympic games and the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Themes alluding to the Olympic idea had been exploited in California as early as the mid-nineteenth century, i.e. the time of the US annexation. In 1893 the Olympic Club in San Francisco organized the Ancient Greco-Roman Games with a statewide impact. The association of those spectacles with ancient Greek art or games attests to Californians' awareness of ancient athletics and to the significant role of the San Francisco events in a historical perspective. As the years passed the knowledge about sports with Olympic associations increased among Californians, and the 1893 Ancient Greco-Roman Games in San Francisco can be successfully considered the largest pseudo-Olympic sports event before the 1896 Summer Olympics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sporting diplomacy has long been a topic of considerable interest to sport historians. This is especially true in discussions of British colonialism in India. Building on such work, this article provides an in-depth examination of George Robert Canning Harris, the Fourth Baron Harris, who was Governor of the Presidency of Bombay from 1890 to 1895. Absent from the historical examination of cricket in the subcontinent is the extent to which the domestic press used the sport to understand the habits of local colonial leaders. Lord Harris' use of cricket as a personal governing tool will be addressed, but of greater importance will be the framing of his actions vis-à-vis cricket parlance by the local newspapers. This paper seeks to understand how cricket was used as the central framework through which both Lord Harris executed his governorship and as a means for the local press to understand the virtues of their inexperienced leader. In doing so, this work draws from several local and national Indian newspapers which comprised the Anglo-Indian press during Lord Harris' term. This article presents neither a glorification nor a critique of Lord Harris' stewardship of Bombay, but rather a critical analysis of how cricket was embraced as a framework through which colonial policies and native reactions were understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the second decade of the twentieth century, with the industrialization of the Chuquicamata mine (Atacama Desert, Chile), workers from an American mining company introduced baseball to the inhabitants of the city of Tocopilla. From an elite sport practised by the Americans and embodying social segregation, baseball evolved into a widespread social practice that identified the city at a national level. Local communities adopted baseball, becoming a sport with solid labour, ethnic, economic, and political identity. In addition, the mining capitalists instrumentalized the popular triumph of baseball to create better social relationships between American and local workers and to improve the company's corporate image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay analyzes the role of sport protest under the current United States presidential administration. Protest has long been a feature of sporting rituals; social unrest in this realm is not new. However, at this moment, activism in sport allows us to see larger political alliances, affinities, and solidarities in a particularly useful way. I argue that the world of sport is fostering discussion, debate, and dissent that are uncommon and largely unavailable in other spaces, which, in turn, is opening up a new counterpublic. I offer two examples of challenges athletes have made to anti-Black racism, class inequality, and sexism, with one highly visible, and one less visible. And I contend that these actions are refusals that both draw on and differ from the iconic sporting refusal of the 1960s Civil Rights era–the image of the Black athlete standing alone on the victory stand–by highlighting the role of symbolic action in prompting democratic deliberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Second Republic proletarian sport developed in Castile, with a prominent socialist and communist influence and a clear international scope, bringing physical activity closer to the popular sectors. During the Spanish Civil War leftist social and political organizations understood it as a class-based conflict with sport as a distinctive key element of the working-class and managed to create battalions, some of them closely related to sport. The main objectives of this study are to clarify the formation, development and significance of the Alpine Battalion, and to discuss the role of sportsmen in wartime as a consequence of their political and sport practices. To achieve these targets, archival and press material was analyzed. Results show evidence of the formation of the Alpine Battalion around the Guadarrama range (Madrid) to protect the entrance to the capital city in December 1936 with socialist and communist members. Salud y Cultura, one of the first popular sport associations in Spain, played an important role being the key element to create the battalion. Despite political tensions, the battalion succeeded in creating an adequate environment for sport, culture and political analysis but also helped the Republican war effort until the end of the conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article, based on archive materials and press publications, as well as major academic studies, contains information on attempts by the Communists in Poland to take control over the Polish Olympic Committee (POC) in the Stalinist period. After the Olympic games in London in 1948 they 'closed' the POC's activity in order to nominate a 'new' POC in June 1950 created by people connected with the dominant Communist Polish United Workers' Party (PUWP). The POC even included two Soviet officers of Polish origin, while the people's power forced the previous president of the organization to resign. However, throughout the whole Stalinist period in Poland the Communists did not manage to deprive Professor Jerzy Loth of his membership in the International Olympic Committee, whom they were planning to replace with their trusted people. For that reason, they sent to Lausanne the names of their candidates at least four times. They did so even when the POC was formally 'closed'. In spite of that, until 1956, the people's power did not manage to implement the plan of taking full control over the POC. This fact is largely thanks to the management of the POC and Professor Loth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the influential Austrian sports publicist, official and athlete Otto Herschmann (1877–1942). He created a unique contemporary document with his book Viennese Sport in 1904. This book is a key text for understanding the political and social condition of sport in Vienna in its constituent phase. Despite this, the book has been virtually unrecognized even in the relevant literature. The study examines the social and political situation of sport in the central European metropolis of Vienna around 1900, focusing primarily on the class relations of sporting practices. The overall question is how British sport diffused into the stratified society of the Habsburg Monarchy. The main sources are Herschmann's book and contemporary newspaper reports which are contextualized with the relevant secondary literature. The theoretical framework of the study is provided by Bourdieu's reflections on the differentiation of the 'semi-autonomous field of forces' of sport, as he set them out in the two texts Historical and Social Preconditions of Modern Sport and Program for a Sociology of Sport. Overall, it becomes apparent that there was no uniform, linear establishment practice of sport in Vienna around 1900. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural diplomacy is the promotion of a nation's unique heritage, manifesting itself in everything from art to cuisine, to achieve a state's foreign policy goals. While the manifestations above are commonly invoked in summarizing Turkey's cultural diplomacy over the last century, research focused on the role of sports in Turkish political history is scant. The Republic of Turkey has used sports as a tool of diplomacy and peacebuilding since its establishment following the First World War. This study outlines some of the Republic's first forays into cultural diplomacy with sports by exploring Turkey's participation in the Olympic games, use of sports as a tool for Turkish-Greek rapprochement, and use of sports in developing relations with the Soviet Union in the interwar period. Turkish State Archives, periodicals, and research studies were used as the main sources. The preliminary findings reveal that the efforts of the Republican period to develop diplomatic ties using international sports were achieved alongside the Republic's foreign policy prerogatives in Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and neighboring countries. Notably, this study does not find that Turkey used athletics to construct similar diplomatic relationships with Western European nations, such as the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing the place of sport in authoritarian political processes is one of the contributions that this work intends to make. In Uruguay's case it is studied at the level of the senior football team, which presents some differences with other experiences in the region. The Uruguayan case is closer to resistance than to domination and manipulation. Based on theoretical-conceptual contributions from authors such as Stuart Hall, the period between 1973–1980 is approached, taking into reference two key episodes: initially the moment when the coup occurred in 1973 and Uruguay was contesting the qualifiers for the 1974 World Cup in Germany. The second is located in 1980 when the Mundialito was organized. The analysis of these episodes highlights the relationships between football, politics and society, taking mainly period press as historical sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explicitly tracing the current sport system structure, status and policy framework, this article is set out to review and provide a broad understanding of Uganda's sports policies. It examines historical overview, government involvement, administrative setup and the wider sport policy setting including the funding mechanisms, elite sport participation and performance, legal framework, key trends, and emerging sport policy issues. The article offers an up-to-date overview of Uganda's sport policy landscape largely since it gained its independence from the colonial rulers in 1962. However much Uganda is regarded as one of the African sports powerhouses, relatively little research has been published on both its earlier and contemporary sport policies, and even less on the implementation, administration, management and performance of elite sport. It argues that the main ambitions and priorities of the Ugandan government should not only be concentrated on attaining mass sports participation, elite sport success, national identity, economic transformation and a healthy and active population but rather on striking a balance between them. The article delineates the starting point for improving sports development through reshaping Uganda's sport policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India boasts a rich sporting heritage dating back thousands of years. Despite its rich sporing culture, India only began developing its own sporting ecosystem in 1954 with the creation of the All-India Council of Sports (AICS), shortly after gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. However, in the seven decades that have passed, the systematisation and development of sport of India has been relatively slow and internationally India have had limited success on the elite stage. The aim of this profile is to provide a detailed insight into the vast sporting ecosystem in India by exploring the policies, enablers, and barriers in relation to sport participation, elite sport, and the use of sport across the nation to tackle non-sporting objectives. Following an introduction highlighting the key demographics and sporting culture in India, the profile moves onto outline the state led provision of sport in India, including how sport is organised and funded. Next, the significance of the commercial sport sector in India is highlighted, followed by a section detailing the growth of the not-for-profit sector. Finally, the profile highlights the current public policy priorities and challenges, which include elite sport success, tackling inactivity and poor governance in sport before offering some concluding observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The profile provides an overview of the contemporary sport policy system in the small, and relatively young, state of Slovenia. The paper begins by outlining some of the specific characteristics of Slovenia which provide important contextual understanding. A brief overview of the historical development of sport in Slovenia after gaining independence in 1991 is also included. Next, a detailed description of the contemporary structure of the sport policy system in Slovenia is provided, including relevant organisational and financial structures. The paper then discusses some of the specificities of the Slovene context that have also influenced the contemporary sport policy system including characteristics of scale, culture, and the natural environment. Finally, the paper concludes by highlighting the contextual factors that may be relevant to the future of the sport policy system in Slovenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to provide a description and create an understanding of public sport policy, the key actors within the sports system, and the political sphere in Finnish sport. The development of sport policy in Finland has been characterised by a relatively long-lasting, polarised, and highly politicised sports sector and a series of structural reforms. The contemporary sports system in Finland represents a mixed model, in which the state has a strong role in directing sport policy (especially through resource steering), while the role of sports organisations is implementation. Further, municipalities play a central role in creating conditions for sport and physical activity, and all sport policy actors have high autonomy in their operations. In particular, the population's increasing physical inactivity and lack of elite sport success in Finland have driven the central government to seek new solutions, such as centralisation, a crossadministrative approach, and evidence-informed policy-making practices. Sport policy is also impacted by international trends and agreements, such as sustainable development, in which Finland's ambitious goals affect the sports sector. In the future, the unclear roles of different actors and a lack of leadership could cause further challenges to the adoption of effective sport policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation in sport contributes to increased physical activity (PA) levels. Increasing PA is a public health concern due to its recognised impact on health outcomes. International policy actors such as the Council of Europe, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) have recommended that 'sport for all' is promoted both for public health and as a basic right. This review aims to evaluate sport related policies aimed at maximising the opportunity to participate in PA and sporting activity. Six electronic databases were systematically searched for quantitative, qualitative and review studies investigating how public sport policy affects PA outcomes. The scientific literature was screened according to predetermined eligibility criteria. Following study selection and data extraction, the quality was assessed using modified versions of existing quality assessment tools. Results were synthesised and the context in which policy actions occurred analysed using the Context and Implementation of Complex Interventions (CICI) framework. Database searches identified 3705 unique articles. A total of 93 full-text articles were assessed, with 22 meeting our inclusion criteria. Seven unique 'policy actions' were identified and were categorised into the 'policy areas' Facilities, Financial, Collaboration and Exhortation. Policy actions to promote PA and sport participation have demonstrated qualified success but there is limited evidence of success in engaging hard to reach groups. Therefore, policymakers utilising sport to increase PA should treat it as a complementary intervention alongside other policy actions based on a systems perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common trend among hosts of women's international sporting events is to tout the opportunity to positively impact women's and girls' sporting and physical activity practices. Yet, many scholars have shown that such 'trickle down' effects from the event to society are seldom realised. Nonetheless, organisers continue in their attempts to 'leverage' largescale sporting events to produce a range of positive impacts. Here, we use the extraordinary context of Aotearoa New Zealand hosting the Women's Cricket, Rugby, and Football World Cups in 2022 and 2023 to consider the potential prospects, pitfalls, and challenges involved in attempting to leverage such events to improve societal and sporting opportunities for women and girls. More specifically, we explore the proposed leveraging strategies for the tournaments and examine how such initiatives align with the New Zealand Government's 'Strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation' (WGS). Drawing upon strategy, planning and policy documents, press releases, and media coverage, we adopt a critical discourse analysis approach to understand how current strategies of organisers, national sports organisations, and governing bodies align with the three main 'pillars' of the WGS (leadership, participation, and visibility). Through our analysis we present empirical and theoretical challenges (and opportunities) faced by the tournament stakeholders. We end with a critical analysis of the challenges and possibilities hosting three world cups can have on enacting meaningful and important change for women and girls' sport in Aotearoa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the early sports boycotts in modern times occurred in 1905 as a reaction to the stalled negotiations concerning separate consulates for Norway, then in political union with the mightier country Sweden. The Committee for the representation of Norwegian athletes in the winter sporting contest Nordic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, decided to quit its work because of the sorrow which was said to be felt throughout Norway. To a considerable extent, the daily newspapers and weekly sports magazines defined the public opinion in this context. The editors, especially in the capital Kristiania (now Oslo), related the right to set up Norwegian consulates to the fundamental question of national sovereignty as well as to the democratic aspirations of the Norwegian people, thereby most probably inducing the Committee to terminate its work. Although the decision was a break from the paradigm of not mixing sport and politics, neither the Committee, nor the publications, nor most athletes voicing their opinions, presented the boycott as a kind of threat or direct political demonstration against Sweden. It became a question of morality and identity. The boycott in 1905 may be perceived as a demonstration of what mattered most – for the Norwegians themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport participation in adolescence helps to reach the recommended levels of physical activity and predicts participation during adulthood. Few cross-cultural studies compare contexts of sport participation and their relation with sport participation rates. In Europe, Austria and France are two countries that differ in their economic situation and sport policy structure. The main objective of this study was to compare sport participation rates and sport contexts (unorganized/organized sport) in Austria and France, by sex and SES. Two data collections were conducted during spring 2015 in Austria and France among high-school students. Logistic regressions were used to compare the sport participation rates of Austrian and French students by sex, SES and context of participation. The Austrian adolescents had higher sport participation rates than the French adolescents but were less likely to participate in organized sport compared with the French (OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.52–0.78). The Austrian students were more likely to participate in unorganized sport (OR = 3.46, 95% CI = 2.75–4.36). The large participation difference between the two countries was also caused by the higher unorganized sport practice of low-SES Austrian adolescents, especially by low-SES girls. This indicates that, next to organized sport, unorganized practice can help to enhance adolescent participation and to balance existing social and gender inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of central government in disability sport in Aotearoa New Zealand has never been reviewed in depth. In this paper, drawing on archival data we outline the evolution of disability sport policy, highlighting key initiatives of government sport agencies from 1937 to the contemporary disability sport policy landscape. Evolving with the rise of the social model of disability, these policies are considered a necessary response to an historical invisibility of disabled people in sport. We highlight a landscape that is complicated by significant diffusion of power between government and 'not-for-profit' organisations responsible for the provision of sport for disabled people. Within this contested landscape and with the historical weight of policy, disabled people in NZ continue to report exclusion, marginalisation and lower levels of participation, suggesting a disconnect between policy and its enactment. We introduce the concept of 'enlightened ableism' to illustrate that while progressive ideals are embedded in disability policy, there are still challenges for achieving true inclusive practice. Furthermore, lessons learned from previous policy failures suggest that while the future of disability sport in NZ looks well placed to facilitate increased participation, it is worth questioning the extent to which ableism is structured into the fabric of disability sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the social inclusion policy strategies of the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sport (MYS). Using a critical discourse analysis, based on Norman Fairclough's work (2012), the aim is to analyse the discourses used within policy-related documents regarding social inclusion, youth, and sport. In order to achieve this objective, we analysed 15 key documents, including annual activity reports, national youth and sport policy documents, and strategic plans produced by the Ministry. Findings revealed that the dominant discourses about young people seem to be embedded within neoliberal and neoconservative ideologies in which depoliticised notions of 'employment/apprenticeship' and 'the family' are put forward as solutions for the social inclusion of young people. However, such a discourse risks further sustaining the social exclusion of youth, denying their full citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article responds to calls in this journal for increased attention to identity, culture, power and sport. It explores, for the first time, the lived realities of identity politics in a divided society, through interviews with 12 self-declared Irish nationalists and republicans that represented Northern Ireland. Important insights are revealed into national eligibility decisions for either Irish team, motivated mainly by 'shop window' visibility and being seen as the best of a peer group. Political and sporting nationalisms were not necessarily analogous. A significant original finding is that the lived experiences of being closer to 'the other' resulted in an overall reinforcement rather than dissolution of difference. Visual and oral 'national' symbols such as flag, and especially anthem, delineated such difference, being symbolic walls of the mind. 'Our wee country' was thus a polarised and polarising fantasy shield. The article concludes by reconsidering the role of sport as a lens through which to examine identity and its' place as part of the 'problem' and 'solution'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When in 1931 the United States sent an all-white track and field team to compete against an all-white South African roster, it inaugurated a series of interchanges that over the next six decades illuminated intersections between politics, race, and sport in both nations. Between the 1930s and the 1980s, these periodic sporting encounters served as lightning rods that rallied civil rights activists and anti-apartheid protestors, linking battles over sport and race in both nations. By the 1960s, as legal segregation in the US eroded while the system in South Africa hardened, titans of American sporting desegregation who championed athletes' rights such as Jack Robinson linked their endeavours to anti-apartheid campaigns. At the end of the 1980s, two multi-racial groups of American athletes broke international anti-apartheid bans and created a new debate over the concept of athletes' rights. As apartheid crumbled in the early 1990s, an American legal scholar sought to codify this new perspective into a federal 'athletes' bill of rights', providing a paradoxical postscript for this special issue on 'Excavating the Ancestry of "Globetrotting": New Perspectives on the Intersection of Racial Politics, Civil Rights Struggles and Anti-Apartheid Crusades in US Track and Field from the 1920s through the 1980s'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alongside the successes of the international sports boycott against apartheid South Africa (1948-1994), numerous countries circumvented it, including Israel. An examination of the reasons that led Israeli sports institutions and athletes to evade the sports sanctions against the apartheid regime reveals that Israelis did not join the boycott because of professional, Zionist, and national interests. Particularly, South African Jews played a crucial role in connecting Israel to South Africa due to their wealthy status and Zionist sentiments. Jewish owners of sports clubs encouraged the migration of Israeli footballers to South Africa, South African Jews attracted Israelis for fund-raising purposes and to encourage immigration to Israel, and Israel nurtured sporting relations with South Africa to overcome its own growing international isolation. Israeli newspapers, Israel State Archives, memoirs, and academic scholarship on the sports links between Israel and apartheid South Africa provide a novel perspective regarding the wider historical links between the two countries. The examination of such connections between Israel and South Africa demonstrates that similar to the diplomatic sphere, economic and national interests played a more central role than moral considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interwar Swedish cycling offers an opportunity to consider the relationship between fun and politics in sport. A collection of sources which reveals that light-hearted fun was central to the experience of cycling, whether through enjoying the landscape, adventuring abroad, or cycling with friends and family, also shows that cycling was connected intricately to the policies of the Swedish Social Democratic Worker's Party (SAP). The SAP programme unlocked cycling for swathes of Swedes, but, more profoundly, enjoying riding a bike also helped to foster new attitudes and behaviours which converged with SAP policies. Simply having fun when cycling encouraged new approaches to nature and travel abroad, and new patterns of sociability, which made cyclists architects, together with the SAP and other leisure time and outdoor organisations, in constructing the new type of society that emerged in interwar Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Has sports nationalism policy moved South Korea's cultural ecosystem backward? South Korea's sports nationalism policy began in the 1960s with an aim to restore its tarnished national pride. With the government's full support, the policy served as momentum to lay South Korea's unique institutional foundation to grow into a sports powerhouse, resulting in the enactment of the National Sports Promotion Act, opening of the national team training camp, provision of pensions to national athletes, operation of school sports teams, and creation of the National Youth Sports Festival. The sports nationalism policy created a culture that forces students to set their career paths in a dichotomous way: select 'studies' or 'elite athletics' rather than nurture 'athletes who study'. As a result, school sports teams have increasingly become a means to produce 'exercising machines' not part of education, thereby generating a deformed elite sports structure. Though sports nationalism policy has obviously caused an imbalance in sports culture by inducing its growth around elite sports, it has also created a positive legacy, such as enhancing South Korea's national pride and brand value by raising its sports to a world-class level in a short period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three British Sports Councils are instrumental in developing the policy landscape for sport and physical education (PE). They aspire to equality between the sexes in ‘sport and physical recreation’ (SPR), in keeping with their Royal Charters [Sport England. (1996/2009). Royal Charter of English Sports Council (Sport England). Retrieved from https://www.sportengland.org/media/10309/consolidated-royal-charter.pdf; Sport Scotland. (1996). The Royal Charter for the Scottish Sports Council. Retrieved from http://www.sportscotland.org.uk/sportscotland/Documents/Resources/sportscotlandRoyalCharter.pdf; Sport Wales. (1997). The Royal Charter of the Sports Council for Wales. Retrieved from http://sport.wales/media/128780/royal%20charter.doc] and the Equality Act [HM Government. (2010). Equality Act 2010. London: TSO. Retrieved from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/pdfs/ukpga_20100015_en.pdf]. As public bodies they are committed to eliminating direct and indirect discrimination in provision, and advancing equality. One of their main functions is the distribution of public money, and all collect participation data detailing the different SPR choices of the sexes. These are primary planning tools in the three home countries. This paper investigates whether equality in relation to sex is considered a ‘first-order’ question of distributive justice for the Councils. Therefore, the funding awarded to the top SPR preferences by sex for each Country is presented. Defining SPR determines eligibility for funding and the boundaries of the SPR infrastructure which influences and interfaces with sport, school sport and PE. Consequently, critical feminist political and economic theory is used to evaluate the Councils’ framing of SPR and equality in relation to sex. Male preferences are disproportionately grant-aided leaving those of females significantly under-funded. Although the remit of the Councils is ‘sport and physical recreation’ this is usually reframed by them as ‘sport’. Equality is generally considered a second-order question of justice, and outsourced to national governing bodies of sport. Further dance, one of the most popular female SPR activities for girls, has not, until 2016, been designated as SPR in England and has been ineligible for funding. These policies suggest indirect discrimination against women and girls who disproportionately prefer physical recreation and dance to competitive sport. Therefore, the Sports Councils and/or overarching government departments may not be fulfilling their legal requirements under the Equality Act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the diffusion of “Sport for Development and Peace” (SDP) across sub-Saharan Africa following global policy impetus provided by international organizations, including the United Nations, since the start of the twenty-first century. In so doing, the article centres on a geographical region that has been unconsidered in the policy diffusion literature and, particularly, responds to calls for research into the effects of policy characteristics on diffusion mechanisms and patterns. This rationale beget methods that differed from the predominant use of quantitative, dichotomous indicators of policy diffusion, instead integrating data from global, international and national policy documents, from a review of SDP literature, and from stakeholder interviews in Ghana and Tanzania. Patterns of increasing governmental engagement with, but limited implementation of, SDP policies contrasted with the significant expansion of SDP provision by diverse NGOs. In turn, these patterns represented the varying influence of different diffusion mechanisms on state and non-state actors. Compared with the diffusion of other types of policies, these findings indicated the effects of an instrumental, malleable but complex global policy model for SDP diffusion. There is, therefore, significant value in further research that examines how policy diffusion may depend on the configuration of particular policy characteristics, mechanisms and actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at Russia’s international sports politics from two different perspectives. The authors discuss sport mega-events as instruments of legitimizing the existing regime and stabilizing its foundations. They argue that, due to mega-events, the Russian state has found itself under persistent external pressures from international organizations, and has had to react to them and adjust its legal norms and policy practices accordingly. The key argument of the article is that both elements of the puzzle can be approached as central elements of governmentality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can one explain the recent fascination with sport as a tool of government policy in Russia?  This paper argues that sports policy in Russia is an essential part of policies to encourage nationalism and one which borrows heavily from the Soviet past.  Based on the analysis of meeting transcripts available on the Kremlin website and other materials, this paper argues that there are five key mechanisms by which the Kremlin uses the Soviet sport legacy to promote nationalism. This use of sport has implications for the popular reception of Putin’s regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the use of sport in the formation of an Israeli cultural (multi-ethnic) identity and its historical and contemporary place in the Palestinian–Israeli conflict. The power of sporting events lies in the fact that the teams represent for their fans an ideology beyond the game itself. Supporting a sports team is a primary form of identity for many people. Highly salient sporting events, which are supercharged with emotion and garner eager interest, are also a venue for achieving political objectives on the local, national, and international levels. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The training of coaches is considered central to sustaining and improving the quality of sports provision. In Parasport, coaches are recognised at the highest level of international sport policy as performing a central role in achieving important sporting and social outcomes related to disabled people. However, an emerging body of evidence suggests that formal coach education plays only a minor role in Parasport coaches' development. To ensure equitable access and quality experiences and opportunities for disabled people in sport there is an ongoing challenge to theorise and implement the optimal structure for educating coaches. The purpose of this paper is to address the central theme of disability and coach education reform in sport. The aim is to review critically the emerging literature on coach development in Parasport to provide some clarity and consensus on existing pathways and models for coach development, before outlining some potential ways forward for coach education. Starting with a critical review of existing research on coaches' learning and development in Parasport, we then examine potential approaches to coach education, providing examples from existing research in coaching and the wider field of education. This is followed by some modest suggestions for coach education reform as it pertains to the inclusion of disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The image projected by Franco's regime during the 1960 and 1964 European Nations' Cup via the international press, showed the strong internal contradictions that existed within his governments. In addition, the role played by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in this process and the importance of football in Franco's foreign policy were part of a new diplomatic policy initiated in the early 1960s. The negative impact on the international press of the regime's decision to refuse to play against the Soviet Union team in the first edition of the 1960 European Nations' Cup, impaired the political interests of the dictatorship. Four years later the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was able to convince Franco's government of the benefits that holding this tournament in Spain would offer to the foreign image of the regime. The new strategy of using the politics of sport served Francoism as a counterpoint to the fierce criticism that the repressive policies of the dictatorship were receiving from certain areas of international popular opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Denmark in recent years has seen a significant increase in immigration. The topic has become a major political issue, due mainly to the rise of far-right political parties that advocate not only for a more restrictive immigration policy, but also for an assimilation strategy for those migrants currently resident in the country. Using the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), the aim of this article is to analyse the role of sport policy in Copenhagen as an instrument for the social integration of migrants between 2010 and 2018. This paper focuses on female immigrants and women-only swimming, exploring the impact on policy of the interactions between national, municipal and sports club policy actors. The main findings of the research are: a) sport was identified in Copenhagen as an important vehicle for the inclusion of recent migrants into communal associationalist life and their introduction to Danish societal values and norms; b) the Municipality of Copenhagen was granted by central government considerable autonomy in interpreting their responsibilities and collaborated closely with sports clubs in the design and delivery of sports programmes related to immigrants; c) two competing advocacy coalitions were identified, one favouring inclusion through assimilation and the other integration through multiculturalism; d) the assimilationist coalition was composed of centre-right and far-right political parties. As these parties controlled the municipal sport department, it was the sports clubs that pursued a multicultural policy; and e) the issue of gender-segregated swimming was a focal issue for disputes over approaches to integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, there has been increased recognition of the size and role of the coaching workforce in Europe. This has led the European Commission to increase its focus on sport coaching and call upon Member States to take steps towards its regulation or professionalisation. However, despite this policy direction, the academic literature, albeit limited to a handful of European countries, has been critical of sport coaching's capacity and need to move towards a more professionalised status. The purpose of our paper is to begin a discussion about the current and future state of sport coaching across Europe. To do so, we will present the results of an expert survey that provides baseline quantitative data on the current state of coaching across 26 European countries. Results show mixed, but potentially higher than expected, systemic professionalisation of coaching in Europe, though there are also substantial regional differences. We also find significant deficits in national data collection and management; this severely limits the development of a clearer picture and diminishes policymaking. In response to these findings, we propose potential avenues for research and policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clubs, fans and especially the active fan scene in Europe have criticised the penalties given by sports courts for fan misbehaviour as they perceive a lack of transparency and uniformity. The German Football Association (DFB) accepted the protests and criticisms as in 2018 they introduced sentencing guidelines that determine exact penalties for certain offences. In order to examine whether this approach could serve as a role model for other European countries, this paper investigates the fines and changes in transparency and uniformity. Three different studies are conducted. They include an analysis of 981 hand-collected past sentences imposed by the German courts; 26 expert interviews with representatives of the association, courts, clubs, sponsors, police, active fan scenes and ultra-groups; and 127 interviews with stadium visitors. The paper shows that the sentencing guidelines were able to increase the transparency and uniformity as perceived by nearly all interview participants, while the respondents clearly criticised the practice prior to the reform. The analysis additionally reveals a significant enhancement in provable uniformity since sentences are no longer bundled. Given the effects, the guidelines could serve as a role model for other countries. The findings also indicate the importance of raising awareness of the guidelines, introducing some modifications and continuously focusing on dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Global Sport Management is the property of the Global Alliance of Marketing & Management Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Global Sport Management is the property of the Global Alliance of Marketing & Management Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Gymnastics and sport began to develop in Russia at the beginning of the nineteenth century, but physical culture as a concept and movement emerged only after the 1917 Revolution. Initially, physical culture developed as part of the school curriculum for creating healthy students. However, after 1918, physical culture occupied an important place in the process of building a socialist state as part of the project of creating a new Soviet person who would be perfect spiritually and physically. Meanwhile, a clear definition of 'physical culture' did not exist. During the 1920s and 1930s, the tasks of physical culture were redefined according to the needs of the country: beginning as a means of educating a harmonious personality, then a tool for filling the ranks of the Soviet state defenders and training defenders in processes and the concept of physical culture 'hygiene', and, finally, its militarization. A multifunctional system of physical culture, capable of adapting to the changing needs of the state, defined the qualities that an ideal Soviet individual should possess. As an important part of the political discourse of the Soviet state, physical culture was basic to the education of individuals capable of reproducing Soviet values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reopening of the border hotline between North and South Korea started the process for a unified nation marching in the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics. The event was described as the 'Peace Games', highlighting the intersection of sport and politics on a global stage. This article examines the representations in media reporting of North Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics in six regionally and internationally significant nations. There were 660 online articles from six English-language news websites from North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, the US, and UK dealing with North Korea's return to the global sporting arena. The results provide an understanding of the different narratives applied when reporting on North Korea in sporting contexts, which in this sample also include broader political elements. In this example, even though North Korea's participation in the Winter Olympics was part of a major sporting event, the importance of political concerns and issues was greater compared with sporting achievements in newsmedia representations of the 2018 Winter Olympics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]