The Capability Approach as a Conceptual Bridge for Theory-Practice in Sport-for-Development

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the potential of leveraging both normative and empirical concepts in order to highlight and interrogate the bridge between theory and practice in sport-for-development. Herein, we explore the potential of the Capability Approach (CA) as a guide to both research and practice in sport-for-development (SfD). The CA is emerging in the sport-for-development literature as a potentially instructive framework and the literature continues the push to critically examine its value in theorizing and implementing SfD projects. To situate the CA into SfD, we explore the importance of engaging with each 'moment' located within the structure of development theory-practice and employ the CA in order to do so. The literature has shown that the CA might have a role to play in guiding both normative and empirical aspects of assessment in sport-for-development practice. The authors draw on ethnographic data from research with a SfD project in Vietnam to consider the potential of the CA to guide both research and management in the paradigm of SfD and human development. The paper concludes by outlining the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities within the CA, contributing to a more complete engagement with the potential for bridging theory to practice.