The Politics of Sports Development: Development of Sport or Development Through Sport?

This text traces the evolution of sports development in the UK in the context of broader shifts in sport and social policy. It explores the emergence of sports development from the early years of public policy for sport in the 1960s. This analysis is set against a background of policy initiatives, from Sport For All, Action Sport and CCT to the National Lottery and the contemporary emphasis on sport as a factor in the social and cultural well-being of the nation. Incorporating original material from major case studies of four local authorities and the national governing bodies of hockey, rowing, rugby union and tennis, the book examines the reality of doing sports development within this changing social and political policy climate. By showing how sports development policy is made, remade and translated into practice, this book should be of interest to students of sport or leisure policy and for practising sports development officers.