Walsh, Caldwell and Jureidini offer an expansive linguistic perspective on the evaluative language prevalent in the world of professional sports. This book presents a close linguistic analysis of evaluative language in sport. Drawing on appraisal theory and data from three distinct sporting contexts – songs and chants in football stadiums, television commentary and coach discourse – it examines the critical role played by affectual, judgemental and appreciative language. In the spirit of sociolinguistics, this book also considers the history and culture of the respective sporting contexts. Connections are made between the evaluative language expressed by supporters, commentators and coaches and the invocation of power and solidarity. Evaluative Language in Sports gives insight into some of the key language practices that contribute to professional sports culture: a communal and combative world of winners and losers, ‘us and ‘them’. An innovative and valuable book that will appeal to students, researchers and sports enthusiasts interested in sports communication and language, sociolinguistics and media studies.

Structured around key excluded groups, such as the elderly, ethnic minorities, the disabled and rural communities, this book offers an assessment of sports policy in contemporary Britain.

"Research Centre for Sport in Canadian Society, University of Ottawa."

Social exclusion is one of the most pressing challenges in post-industrial societies, encompassing economic, social, cultural and political dimensions. This important new book critically examines the relationship between sport and social exclusion, from global and cross-cultural perspectives. The book analyses sport and social exclusion by focusing on three key questions: How does social exclusion affect participation in sport? How is social exclusion (re)produced, experienced, resisted, and managed in sport? How is sport used to combat social exclusion and promote social inclusion in other life domains? To answer these questions, the authors discuss and critically reflect on existing knowledge and in-depth case studies from Europe, Australasia, Africa and Latin America. The book illuminates the relationship between sport and social exclusion in Global North and Global South contexts, addressing key issues in contemporary social science such as social inequality, worklessness, gender, disability, forced migration, homelessness and mental health. Sport and Social Exclusion in Global Society is important reading for all students, researchers and policy-makers with an interest in sport sociology, sport development, sport management, or the relationship between sport and wider society.

Society is obsessed with categorising and treating individuals and groups according to their physical and non-physical differences, such as sex, gender, disability and race. This treatment can lead to the inclusion or exclusion of an individual from the tangible and intangible benefits of society. Where this practice becomes discriminatory, legal frameworks can protect human rights and ensure that people are treated with due respect for their similarities and differences. In a sporting context, the inclusion and exclusion of athletes based upon their differences is often a necessary part of the essence of competitive sporting activity, arranged around rules and categories that can have an unequal exclusionary impact on certain classes of individual. Dominant sporting cultures can also have exclusionary effects. This important and innovative book seeks to investigate the socio-legal and regulatory balance between inclusion and exclusion in competitive sport. It critically analyses a range of legal and non-legal cases concerning sport-specific inclusion and exclusion in the areas of sex, gender, disability and race, including those cases involving Oscar Pistorius, Caster Semenya and Luis Suarez, to identify the extent to which the law and sport adopt a justifiable and legitimate inclusive or exclusive approach to participation. The book explores national and international regulatory frameworks, identifying deficiencies and good practice, and concludes with recommendations for regulatory reform. Inclusion and Exclusion in Competitive Sport is important reading for anybody with an interest in the relationship between sport and wider society, sports development, sport management, sports law, or socio-legal studies.