The impacts of sport emissions on climate: Measurement, mitigation, and making a difference.

As a global industry, sport makes potentially significant contributions to climate change through both carbon emissions and influence over sustainability practices. Yet, evidence regarding impacts is uneven and spread across many disciplines. This paper investigates the impacts of sport emissions on climate and identifies knowledge gaps. We undertook a systematic and iterative meta-analysis of relevant literature (1992-2022) on organized and individual sports. Using a defined search protocol, 116 sources were identified that map to four sport-related themes: (1) carbon emissions and their measurement; (2) emissions control and decarbonization; (3) carbon sinks and offsets; and (4) behavior change. We find that mega sport events, elite sport, soccer, skiing, and golf have received most attention, whereas grass-roots and women's sport, activity in Africa and South America, cricket, tennis, and volleyball are understudied. Other knowledge gaps include carbon accounting tools and indicators for smaller sports clubs and active participants; cobenefits and tradeoffs between mitigation-adaptation efforts in sport, such as around logistics, venues, sports equipment, and facilities; geopolitical influence; and scope for climate change litigation against hosts and/or sponsors of carbon-intensive events. Among these, researchers should target cobenefits given their scope to deliver wins for both climate mitigation and risk management of sport.

Stakeholder views of current laws surrounding alcohol at UK football matches: Is it a case of using a "sledgehammer to crack a nut"?

BACKGROUND: In 2021, a fan-led review of football governance in England recommended that legislation surrounding alcohol and football be reviewed to determine whether it is still fit for purpose, the first such review since the mid-1980s. Restricting football fans' alcohol consumption has been debated in the UK for over 40 years. However, more research is needed into the current attitudes of fans and influential stakeholders on this matter. METHODS: Focus groups with football supporters (n=79) and semi-structured interviews (n=15) with key organisational stakeholders were conducted between November 2019 and February 2021. Focus groups included fans who regularly attended matches and supported various teams from professional leagues in Scotland and England, casual fans who usually watched games at home or in bars, and fans who followed the Scotland and England national teams. Stakeholders were selected to represent organisations likely to be instrumental in any regulatory change, such as the UK and Scottish Governments, Police, football supporters' groups and safety organisations. RESULTS: The current law does not allow for alcohol to be consumed within view of the pitch. Participants from England suggested this could be changed. While in Scotland, where the legislation only allows alcohol to be sold in hospitality, most participants were in favour of allowing the general sale of alcohol at football stadia via a pilot scheme. The reasons for these changes included: reducing unhealthy drinking behaviours; minimising the health and safety risk of fans arriving at the stadium just before kick-off; and a potential increase in much needed revenue for clubs. CONCLUSION: Our data suggests an evidence-based review of current laws regarding alcohol and football may be appropriate. However, any discussion regarding changes to the law regarding alcohol at football stadia, including potential pilot schemes, should be evaluated and monitored in terms of both financial impact and the impact on public health and safety.

New horizons in the sociology of sport.

The relevance of a sociological view on the problems of society has never been as important as it is today. To quote the editors of the journal Nature in their editorial, Time for the Social Sciences, from 2015: if you want science to deliver for society, you need to support a capacity to understand that society. In other words, the technological and scientific disciplines cannot simply transfer their findings into everyday life without knowing how society works. But this realisation does not seem to have caught on everywhere. The sociology of sport is entering a critical period that will shape its development and potential transformation over the next decade. In this paper, we review key features and trends within the sociology of sport in recent times, and set out potential future challenges and ways forward for the subdiscipline. Accordingly, our discussion spans a wide range of issues concerning the sociology of sport, including theories and approaches, methods, and substantive research topics. We also discuss the potential contributions of the sociology of sport to addressing key societal challenges. To examine these issues, the paper is organized into three main parts. First, we identify three main concentric challenges, or types of peripheral status, that sociologists of sport must confront: as social scientists, as sociologists, and as sociologists of sport, respectively. Second, we consider various strengths within the positions of sociology and the sociology of sport. Third, in some detail, we set out several ways forward for the sociology of sport with respect to positioning within academe, scaling up research, embracing the glocal and cosmopolitan aspects of sociology, enhancing plurality in theory, improving transnational coordination, promoting horizontal collaborations, and building greater public engagement. The paper is underpinned by over 60 years (combined) of work within the sociology of sport, including extensive international research and teaching.

Greening Sport for Development and Peace: A Socio-Ecological Approach.

The global "sport for development and peace" (SDP) sector uses sport as a field of social activity to promote diverse types of non-sport social development. In this short perspective article, I critically examine and advocate the engagement of SDP with environmental issues. I argue for the adoption of a "socio-ecological" approach, to enable a greening of SDP that promotes both environmental and social justice. To that end, the article is organized into four main parts. First, I situate the discussion with respect to key literature on SDP and the environment. I then outline some of the main contextual factors that need to be considered on sport, development, and the environment. Third, I set out several core principles that should underpin the socio-ecological greening of SDP. Fourth, I examine how these principles may be implemented within SDP.

Sport and the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Structuralist Analysis of Key Themes in the UK Mass Media.

This paper provides a systematic, detailed analysis of UK mass media online reports and narratives on sport and Covid-19 during the main lockdown period over March-May 2020. A "structuralist thematic" approach is utilized to identify and to map systematically the main themes within the mass media. The research is based on reports and narratives on sport-Covid which featured in five leading online UK mass media outlets. The analysis sets out four underpinning statuses or dimensions of sport: the existential, normative, socio-cultural, and political. These dimensions connect directly and, respectively, to four sets of binary opposite media themes on sport during the Covid-19 lockdown: sport as absence/presence, selfish/altruistic, crisis/escape, and threat/solution. Each theme features several types of media report or commentary (which we term "narrative or substantive strands") on sport-Covid. The paper examines the four binary opposites, and their various types of media report and narrative, in detail. It concludes by discussing the theoretical contributions and substantive findings from the study, and some areas for future research.

Global sport mega-events and the politics of mobility: the case of the London 2012 Olympics.

This paper examines the politics of mobility which surrounded the London 2012 Olympics. We provide a critical discussion of the mobility conflicts, problems and criticisms which emerged from our research with local people in the Stratford and wider Newham areas of London, where most Olympic events were located. The paper is divided into four broad parts. First, we identify and discuss the relevant components of the 'mobilities paradigm' in social science which underpin our analysis. Second, we briefly outline our research methods, centring particularly on fieldwork and interviews with different social groups. Third, we examine in detail the six main themes of mobility politics which were evident at London 2012, relating to social context, event construction, event mobility systems, commercial mobilities, the mobile politics of exclusion, and contested modes of mobility. In doing so, we seek to extend the mobilities paradigm by introducing various concepts and keywords - notably on the three-speed city, entryability, mobility panics, instrumental mobility, and corporate kettling - which may be utilized by social scientists to examine mobility systems in other social contexts. We conclude by reaffirming the significance of mobility-focused research at sport and other mega-events, and by indicating future lines of inquiry for social scientists.

O setor de esporte para o desenvolvimento e a paz: um modelo sociológico de agências pacificadoras / The sport, development and peace sector: a sociological model of peacemaking agencies / El sector del deporte para el desarrollo y la paz: un modelo sociológico de lasagencias de mantenimiento de la paz

Recentemente, uma ampla variedade de organizações (notadamente a ONU e organizações não governamentais) tem usado o esporte como uma ferramenta de intervenção para a pacificação. Este artigo examina e teoriza sobre essas iniciativas através da expansão do setor de “esporte para o desenvolvimento e a paz” (EDP). Para iniciar, foram localizados projetos de EDP dentro de seus contextos históricos, como elementos significativos dentro da “sociedade civil global” emergente. Posteriormente, delimitou-se três modelos de tipos ­ideais de projetos em EDP: “técnico”, “dialógico” e “crítico”. Cada modelo é examinado através de um conjunto comum de heurísticas sociais, tais como seus objetivos centrais e métodos paradigmáticos. O modelo pode ser empregado para analisar outros campos de pacificação e desenvolvimento. Os dois primeiros modelos são mais influentes entre os projetos de EDP existentes; os benefícios potenciais do modelo “crítico” são também delineados.

In recent years, a wide variety of organizations (notably the UN and nongovernmental organizations) have used sport as an interventionist tool to nurture peacemaking across divided communities. This paper examines and theorizes these peacemaking initiatives across the expanding ‘sport, development and peace’(SDP) sector. I begin by locating SDP projects within their historical contexts, and as significant elements within the emerging ‘global civil society’. I then set out three ideal­type models of SDP project; namely, the ‘technical’, ‘dialogical’, and ‘critical’. Each model is examined through a set of common social heuristics, such as its core objectives and paradigmatic methods. The models may be employed to analyse other peacemaking and development fields. The first two models are most influential among existing SDP projects; the potential benefits of the ‘critical’ model are also outlined.

Recientemente, una gran variedad de organizaciones (en particular las Naciones Unidas y organizaciones no­gubernamentales) han utilizado el deporte como herra­ mienta de intervención para la pacificación. Este artículo analiza y teoriza estas ini­ciativas a través de la expansión del sector de “deporte para el desarrollo y la paz” (DDP). Empiezo por la localización de los proyectos de procesamiento electrónico de datos dentro de sus contextos históricos como elementos importantes dentro dela “sociedad civil global” emergente. Entonces delimitar tres modelos de los tipos ideales de los proyectos en DDP: “técnico”, “dialógico” y “crítico”. Cada modelo se examina a través de un conjunto común de heurísticas sociales, tales como sus objetivos fundamentales y los métodos de paradigma. El modelo puede ser utiliza­ do para analizar otros campos de la paz y el desarrollo. Los dos primeros modelos son algunos de los diseños más influyentes. Los beneficios potenciales del modelo“crítico” también se encuentran delimitados.

Olympic and world sport: making transnational society?

This paper introduces the special issue of the British Journal of Sociology on the subject of the transnational aspects of Olympic and world sport. The special issue is underpinned by the perspective that because sport provides a space for the forging of transnational connections and global consciousness, it is increasingly significant within contemporary processes of globalization and the making of transnational society. In this article, we examine in turn eight social scientific themes or problems that are prominent within the special issue: globalization, glocalization, neo-liberal ideologies and policies, transnational society, securitization, global civil society, transnational/global public sphere, and fantasy/imagination. We conclude by highlighting five 'circles' of future research inquiry within world sport that should be explored by social scientists.

Mapping the global football field: a sociological model of transnational forces within the world game.

This paper provides a sociological model of the key transnational political and economic forces that are shaping the 'global football field'. The model draws upon, and significantly extends, the theory of the 'global field' developed previously by Robertson. The model features four quadrants, each of which contains a dominant operating principle, an 'elemental reference point', and an 'elemental theme'. The quadrants contain, first, neo-liberalism, associated with the individual and elite football clubs; second, neo-mercantilism, associated with nation-states and national football systems; third, international relations, associated with international governing bodies; and fourth, global civil society, associated with diverse institutions that pursue human development and/or social justice. We examine some of the interactions and tensions between the major institutional and ideological forces across the four quadrants. We conclude by examining how the weakest quadrant, featuring global civil society, may gain greater prominence within football. In broad terms, we argue that our four-fold model may be utilized to map and to examine other substantive research fields with reference to globalization.

The globalization of football: a study in the glocalization of the 'serious life'.

Sport, in particular football, constitutes one of the most dynamic, sociologically illuminating domains of globalization. This paper examines the globalization of football with particular reference to Robertson's theorizations of global processes. We examine football's cultural globalization through the concept of 'glocalization', which highlights the interdependence of local and global processes within the game's identities and institutions. We address economic globalization in football by considering the world's leading clubs as 'glocal' transnational corporations. We assess the political globalization of football with reference to the possible enhancement of democracy within the game's international governance. We conclude by affirming the utility of sport in advancing our empirical and theoretical understanding of globalization processes.