Since 1990, Britain has seen a period of unprecedented public investment in, and political commitment to, sport. This book provides an analysis that examines sport policy as a field of government and discusses how the various sectors have been affected by government and the competition for public resources.
This book explores the organisation and structure of sport in and beyond Europe. Drawing upon up-to-date data, the collection’s main focus lies on the relationship between public sport policy structures and sport (con)federations. The authors present thirteen country-specific contexts wherein sport policy systems are embedded. This evidence provides in-depth descriptions and analyses within a solid academic and theoretical framework. This volume will be of interest to students and scholars of Sociology of Sport, Sport Management and Sport Policy.
This lively and deeply researched history - the first of its kind - goes beyond the great names and moments to explain how British sport has changed since 1800, and what it has meant to ordinary people. It shows how the way we play reflects not just our lives as citizens of a predominantlyurban and industrial world, but what is especially distinctive about British sport. Innovators in abandoning traditional, often brutal sports, and in establishing a code of `fair play', the British were also pioneers in popular sports and in the promotion of organized spectator events.Modern media coverage of sport, gambling, violence and attitudes towards it, nationalism, and the role of sport in sustaining male identity are also explored, and the book is rich in illuminating and entertaining anecdotes, which it combines with a serious historical understanding of a fascinatingsubject.
Kevin Jefferys provides the first comprehensive historical account of the greatly increased interaction between sport and politics in Britain since World War Two. Jefferys sets sport within the changing socio-political context and balances an appreciation of continuity and change from the London Olympics of 1948 to those of 2012.
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.
In this volume, which was originally published in 1989, nine distinguished historians look at the origins, growth and organisation of the major mass-participation sports in Britain. They combine academic expertise with the enthusiasm of the true sports devotee in considering such vital issues as the social background of players and spectators, gambling, public popularity, media coverage and the impact of television, professionalisation and of course the age-old divide between 'gentlemen' and 'players'. Richly illustrated with rarely seen period photographs, the ten essays combine academic research with entertaining anecdotal evidence derived from the folklore of each game. Of interest both to the student of modern British history and serious sports fans everywhere Sport in Britain: A Social History is a fascinating and wide-ranging contribution to its subject.
Examines the emergence, development and status of an elite sport development policy in swimming, track and field, and sailing in Australia, Canada and the UK.
Arguing that racism is evident throughout British sport, this book breaks new ground in showing how the discourses of race and nation continue to pervade our sporting life.
This book provides a comparative analysis of sport and physical activity policies, processes, and practices across the home nations (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) of the United Kingdom. Drawing upon in-depth analysis by internationally recognised experts within the sport policy and management field, and applying a novel analytical framework, this book offers the first comprehensive intra-country comparison of the most significant features of the sporting infrastructure across the home nations. With chapters focusing on each of the four nations in detail, followed by a comparative chapter that identifies themes regarding the evolution of sport policy across the UK, the book examines the differences and similarities across elite, community, and school sport policy. It provides an important insight into how sport policy interacts with national and devolved political structures and with sociocultural factors to drive both elite sporting success and community sport development. This book is essential reading for any student, researcher, policymaker or sport practitioner with an interest in sport policy, sport development, sport management, public policy, or politics.