The Routledge Handbook of Sport Governance is a comprehensive and authoritative survey of the wide range of issues shaping sport governance. It considers the evolution of the sport industry from a largely amateur, volunteer-driven sector into the globalised business that it is today and examines how professionalisation has fundamentally shifted the governance landscape for sport organisations and all those working within sport. Written by a team of leading sport management scholars from around the world, the book is organised around five key themes: Part I: Overview of sport governance Part II: Environmental context and policy perspectives Part III: Ownership structures and governance models: Implications for sport governance Part IV: Board roles in the governance process Part V: Future sport governance challenges Each chapter reviews the most recent research available and, in some cases, presents new data to support previously published studies. As sport governance is a relatively young field, each chapter maps future research needs to provide direction for sport governance scholars. A special feature of the handbook is a series of nine shorter research chapters in Part IV examining board roles in the governance process, tying theory to the day-to-day practical aspects of running a sport organisation. With broader and deeper coverage of the key issues in contemporary sport governance than any other book, this handbook is essential reading for students, researchers and practitioners in sport business and management.

It is difficult to fully understand the role that sport plays in contemporary global society without understanding how and why governments, NGOs and other organizations formulate and implement policy relating to sport. The Routledge Handbook of Sport Policy is the only book to offer a comprehensive overview of current perspectives, techniques and approaches to the analysis of sport policy around the world. The book introduces a diverse range of approaches to policy analysis across the full range of political and societal contexts, including developed and developing economies; state-centric, mixed economy and market-led systems, and both liberal democracies and political systems characterized by a dominant elite. It is arranged into five sections addressing the key topics and themes in the analysis of contemporary sport policy, including: theory and its implications for methodology globalization, governance, partnerships and networks elite sport policy development, sport and joint policy agendas sport policy and social theory. With contributions from leading policy analysts around the world, including Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia, this book is important reading for any student, researcher or professional working in sport management, sport development, sport and society, or mainstream public policy, policy analysis or social policy.

Sport and physical activity are now regularly used to promote social and economic development, peacebuilding and conflict resolution, on an international scale. The emergence of the ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ (SDP) sector, comprised of governments, NGOs, sport organizations and others, reveals a high level of institutionalization of this activity, while SDP now constitutes an important element of the scholarly analysis of sport. This volume analyses and critically discusses the central elements of, and research issues within, the field of SDP and also provides a series of case studies (substantive and geographic) of key research. It is the most holistic and far-reaching text published on this topic to date. Featuring multidisciplinary perspectives from world-leading researchers and practitioners from around the world, the book covers a wide range of topics, including SDP structures, policies and funding streams, how SDP relates to human rights, social exclusion and corporate social responsibility, SDP and gender, SDP and disability, SDP and health, SDP and homelessness, and SDP and the environment. The Handbook of Sport for Development and Peace is a vital resource for researchers, students and educators in the fields of sports studies, physical education, sport for development and peace, sport-based youth development, sport and politics, sociology of sport, and sport policy.

Physical activity, inactivity and their relationship to health are serious concerns for governments around the world. This is the first book to critically examine the policy and practice of physical activity from a multi-disciplinary, social-scientific perspective. Moving beyond the usual biophysical and epidemiological approaches, it defines and explores the key themes that are shaping the global physical activity debate. Unrivalled in its scale and scope, it presents the latest data on physical activity from around the world, including case studies from Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia. Drawing on social, economic and behavioural sciences, it covers contexts from the global to the local and introduces the dominant ideas which inform the study of physical activity. Its 41 chapters examine the use of different forms of evidence in policymaking, the role of organisations in advocating physical activity, and the practical realities of public health interventions. The Routledge Handbook of Physical Activity Policy and Practice is a landmark publication for all students, academics, policymakers and practitioners interested in the social-scientific study of sport, exercise, physical activity and public health.

Sport Policy: a comparative analysis of stability and change builds on the growing general interest in the comparative study of sport policy and the more specific interest in processes of policy change and issues associated with policy convergence. In stark contrast to many other areas of public policy such as education, personal welfare and health care there is a paucity of theoretically informed comparative studies in sport. Over recent years there has been a steady increase in public investment in sport and frequently, as a consequence, a sharper debate about how public resources should be used. However, there has been little analysis of the factors that shape the generation of domestic sport policy and little attempt to identify the variables that might influence the policy process. Sport Policy: a comparative analysis of stability and change provides a theoretically informed analysis of the sports systems in Canada, England, Germany and Norway. These economically advanced countries are carefully selected to enable the investigation of the significance of variables and because they share a number of socio-economic and sports-related characteristics, which provides the text with a unique breadth and depth of coverage. This text is a vital addition to the general paucity of literature in this area and is written by an internationally renowned author team.

The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Sustainable Development is a comprehensive and powerful survey of the ways in which sport engages with its social, environmental, and ethical responsibilities. It considers how sport can use its unique profile and platform to influence the attitudes of sport fans and consumers to promote positive social and environmental action around the world and to contribute to sustainable development, perhaps the most important issue of our time. The book is structured around the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, with a section devoted to each goal that contains chapters reviewing key theory and current research, measurement and evaluation issues, and the application of current knowledge in real-world development situations. Drawing on research and expertise from management, sociology, development studies, psychology, and other disciplines, the book examines the role that sport must play in areas such as health and well-being, poverty, education, gender equality, decent work, responsible consumption, and climate action. Representing a keynote work on the wider social responsibilities of sport as both an industry and sociocultural activity, this is essential reading for any advanced student or researcher working in sport development, sport management, sport sociology, event studies, development studies, or environmental studies, and for any development practitioner or sport management professional looking to understand how to achieve positive social change in and through sport.

Sport is frequently considered to be an aspect of popular culture that is, or should be, untainted by the political. However, there is a broad consensus among academics that sport is often at the heart of the political and the political is often central to sport. From the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany to the civil unrest that preceded the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, sport and politics have remained symbiotic bedfellows. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics goes further than any other book in surveying the complex, embedded relationships between sport and politics. With sections addressing ideologies, nation and statehood, corporate politics, political activism, social justice, and the politics of sports events, it introduces the conceptual foundations that underpin our understanding of the sport-politics nexus and examines emergent issues in this field of study. Including in-depth case studies from North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, this is an essential reference for anybody with an interest in the social scientific study of sport.