'A timely, engaging and thought-provoking read from an ideal guide to explore what the future may hold.' Dan Roan, Sports Editor, BBC News 'Matt shows with great insight and wisdom how (sport) can form the foundations for future discovery, development and ultimately, happiness.' Ben Ryan, Olympic Gold Medal-Winning Rugby Coach and Author Sevens Heaven, Daily Telegraph Sports Book of the Year 2019 Sport can save us. After a fractious decade following the 2012 Olympics, sport - one of our few remaining collective rituals - is entering its golden age. An increasingly powerful force for good, it is undergoing a dramatic transformation that will positively impact our lives, on and off the pitch. From the collective shared experience of a nationwide event and the individual benefits gained from lacing up your trainers and getting out there to the political power of a footballer's Twitter account, All to Play For is a roadmap for the way that sports can unite us in the worst of times. Illuminated by interviews with a diverse range of sports insiders, including fitness guru Joe Wicks, gold medalist Greg Searle, the mind behind the viral 'This Girl Can' campaign, Tanya Joseph, and running obsessed rockstar Johnny Marr, All to Play For dives into the past, present and future of the industry to show how sport will lead us out of the darkness and guide us in a post-pandemic world. Covering the rise of the athlete activist, the necessity of grassroots organisations, the secret recipe for making sport an effective tool for change and ten bold predictions on how it will guide us in the future, this is an examined look at why sport has the power to heal a divided world.

This book investigates the declining status of cricket within contemporary British society after the high-water mark of England’s Ashes victory in 2005. It considers the deep roots of the game within British national life as well as its ever-changing nature, and reflects upon the current significance and relevance of a sport that many still perceive as deeply traditional and conservative in outlook. Adopting a socio-political approach, the book offers new perspectives on both the contemporary realities of modern cricket and the social, cultural and political condition of modern Britain. Rather than focusing on personality and the detail of match history, the book looks at how the sport has coped with wider societal changes, such as those in Afro-Caribbean and South Asian communities, and how this has demanded adaptation by cricket’s governing authorities. The book also considers the international context in which the game continues to develop and how the initiative with new formats such as Twenty20 has been lost to other cricketing nations, and it offers insight into the continued expansion and recent professionalization of the women’s game, hinting at ways in which cricket as a whole could recapture the public’s imagination. Cricket and Contemporary Society in Britain is an invaluable resource for those studying the sociology of sport, sport history, cultural studies, the politics of sport, cultural identity, sport management and sport development. It is also a fascinating read for anybody with an interest in cricket or in the value of sport in an era of rapid socio-economic, political and cultural change.

Available in paperback for the first time, Cricket and Community in England: 1800 to the Present Day is a path-breaking enquiry into the social history of the summer game. It is written by two specialist cricket historians and based on extensive primary research. It traces the history of the sport at grassroots level from its origins right up to the present day. It will appeal to the cricket historian and the general sports enthusiast alike. The book has two main goals: to provide readers with an accessible introduction to the history of grassroots cricket in England and to supply a clear overview of the different phases of this history. The structure of book is chronological but also thematic. The six chapters look at such issues as early cricket, the origins of clubs, competition, the two world wars, multiculturalism and cricket in the twenty-first century.

This is a comprehensive introduction for HE students to the provision, organisation, and governance of sport in the UK. Supported by case study material, it introduces the reader to key government policies, and to the ways in which public, private and voluntary sectors provide sporting opportunities. The book focuses on issues of participation, employment, media coverage and commercialisation, and critically examines them in light of the key themes of equality and diversity. Pedagogical features – learning outcomes and learning activities – help students develop an active approach to the study of sport in the UK.

NHS support workers, such as nursing Healthcare Assistants, Maternity Support Workers, and Therapy Assistants, often provide the majority of face-to-face care to patients, clients and their families. This accessible guide explores the issues underpinning their recruitment, training, management, development and progression. NHS support workers comprise four out of ten of the clinical workforce, yet despite their importance they have long faced barriers that mean they are not able to fully realise their potential. This is the first book to take a comprehensive look at this workforce, its history, the policy that shapes its recruitment, management and deployment, and explains clearly how their capacity and capability can be safely and effectively enhanced. Structured around the employment cycle, this text covers the introduction of Technical Levels, career changes, apprenticeships, recruitment and selection, informal learning, learning cultures, widening participation, supervision and functional skills. Providing practical, evidence-based guidance and including illustrative case studies, it suggests a range of interventions to overcome the long-standing barriers to the effective development and deployment of healthcare support workers. Drawing on the latest research, and practice, including the author’s own experience, this book is an important resource for all those educating, managing or recruiting unregistered healthcare practitioners. It will also provide invaluable guidance to healthcare support workers interested in progressing their careers.

Sport studies has become one of the largest and fastest growing international industries. This collection of essays from a range of international contributors analyzes all aspects of the political economy of this industry, including media sports production, urban growth politics and capital accumulation and the economic effects of Olympism.

Do small- and medium-sized sporting events affect the overall wellbeing of people living in the host community? If so, how they do they affect local life? This book specifically addresses the strategic choices that host communities make when hosting non-mega sporting events, and looks at the outcomes of those choices. The contributions to this study assess a variety of tangible and intangible effects, including the economic and social impacts, and the effect on tourism and participation in sport. It contains analysis of a variety of events, including spectator and participant events, single-sport and multi-sport events, and one-day and multi-day events, all hosted in different types of cities and communities around the globe. Overall, this book identifies and extends our understanding of the nature, management, and implications of non-mega sporting events. The impacts and strategic outcomes highlighted here have practical value for sport event management and strategy, and advance our understanding of the economic and social consequences of hosting an event. This book was originally published as a special issue of European Sport Management Quarterly.