This book critically examines the roles and contributions of different organisations in the implementation of sport policy in the UK and, therefore, provides an important guide to the complexities of implementing sport policy and of achieving policy goals through, and for, sport. Presenting analytical chapters by leading sport researchers alongside shorter commentaries by practitioners working in the field, this book outlines the uneven path between policy planning and real-world outcomes. Adopting a multi-level analysis, this book examines the interlocking structures and challenges of organisations, from grassroots voluntary sport to national governing bodies and professional clubs, and considers the most important issues affecting UK sport policy today. This is fascinating reading for any student, researcher or practitioner working in sport policy, sport for development, sport management, sport coaching, physical education and related areas of policy such as public health, community development, social policy, public policy and education.

This book critically examines the roles and contributions of different organisations in the implementation of sport policy in the UK and, therefore, provides an important guide to the complexities of implementing sport policy and of achieving policy goals through, and for, sport. Presenting analytical chapters by leading sport researchers alongside shorter commentaries by practitioners working in the field, this book outlines the uneven path between policy planning and real-world outcomes. Adopting a multi-level analysis, this book examines the interlocking structures and challenges of organisations, from grassroots voluntary sport to national governing bodies and professional clubs, and considers the most important issues affecting UK sport policy today. This is fascinating reading for any student, researcher or practitioner working in sport policy, sport for development, sport management, sport coaching, physical education and related areas of policy such as public health, community development, social policy, public policy and education.

Sport Policy and Development introduces the key themes in sport and social policy and provides students with a base for understanding the process of social policy creation more generally. Bringing a distinctively sociological perspective to the subject, the text provides a comprehensive analysis of the ways in which pro-sport policies are thought to influence the community and the individual.

For small nations like Grenada, New Zealand and Norway, medal counts relative to population are increasingly touted as the most meaningful comparisons with sporting superpowers China, the United States and Germany. In acknowledging that 60% of the world’s states have populations of less than 10 million and 48% of these have less than 5 million inhabitants, this book explores how the ‘minnows’ can build or sustain their sport programmes. Despite the immense variation among and between small states, this book suggests that scale ‘matters’. The contributors, from Antigua and Barbuda, Finland, Lebanon, Norway, New Zealand, and Sweden demonstrate the challenges and opportunities of governing sport in their respective countries. These works highlight the distinctive policy ‘ecologies’ of sport in small states, marked by the unique responses to global pressures, the domestic realities of having limited resources, and by the close-knit networks of accountability. This volume will help scholars and policy makers to better understand the significance of having fewer ‘degrees of separation’ and the implications this has for sport. This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics.

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.

Sports figures, events and organisations affect our society in vast, varied and sometimes unexpected ways. This title tackles some of the most compelling connections between the sports world and public policy. It begins by examining issues related to professional sports. It also explores amateur sports and public health.

Sport, Policy and Politics is a genuinely comparative analysis of sport policy-making in five countries - Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and North America. Some of the issues raised in this book include: * the process of sport policy-making * the administrative framework for sport: the responsibilities of central or federal governments, state governments and local authorities * the division of responsibility between different levels of government * how policy-making has addressed the topical problems of drug abuse in athletes, and the provision of sport and physical education in schools.