Sport Policy Makers Research Articles

Public Perceptions on Elite Sport’s Societal Outcomes: A Validated Scale in a European Context

Studies have demonstrated the potential positive (e.g., inclusion) and negative (e.g., pollution) outcomes that elite sport has on society. Over the years, the interest in measuring these societal outcomes has grown. This research extends previous studies that emphasize the need for a validated scale to accurately measure public perceptions of elite sport’s outcomes on society. The purpose of this study was to validate the Mapping Elite Sport’s potential Societal Impact (MESSI) scale in a European context. Using a quantitative research design, the MESSI scale was administered to 10,400 European citizens from seven countries (i.e., Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, The Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the validity and reliability of the measurement instrument. Results indicated a psychometrically acceptable 68-item 10-dimension MESSI scale. The European population perceived more positive than negative potential societal outcomes of elite sport. The study confirms that the MESSI scale is a valid, reliable, and robust instrument for measuring the perceptions of the potential positive and negative societal outcomes of elite sport. The use of this scale might provide valuable insights for sport policymakers.

The 2022 FIFA world cup in Qatar: resident interests and attitudes

ABSTRACT This study examined residents’ attitudes towards the staging of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and assess their interest and level of support or opposition to this mega sport event. Guided by the Social Exchange Theory (SET) and the Social Representation Theory (SRT), the study used a survey conducted in 2019, involving 2031 residents: 1017 Qataris and 1014 non-Qataris. T-test and ANOVA analyses were employed. Examination of the factors shaping residents’ attitudes towards and interest in Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup revealed strong and positive associations between respondents’ demographic characteristics and their interest. Significant relationships were identified between respondents’ gender, nationality and educational level and interest in the 2022 World Cup. Findings suggest directions for sports policy makers and sport event managers to improve strategic planning for hosting major sporting events. Future research can draw on this study’s findings for adaption to other contexts.

Factors that influence mental health and well-being of high-performance athletes from Olympic or Paralympic sport who have transitioned out of national-level or international-level sport: a mixed methods approach

Transitioning out of elite sports can be a challenging time for athletes. To illuminate the gaps and opportunities in existing support systems and better understand which initiatives may have the...

The motivations to play organised club-based sport in Australia

ABSTRACT The way individuals want to consume sport during their leisure time has changed dramatically over past decades. In order to meet sport participant consumer needs, it is important to understand their motivations to play and how these may differ between different demographics. The aim of this study was to investigate the motivations to play sport across: age, gender, residential location and the settings, modes and level of participation. An online survey of sport participants asked about age, gender, residential location, type of sports and physical activities participated in, frequency and duration of play, and motivations for playing organised club-based sport. Survey respondents (N = 4,395) were aged between 13–92 years. The Self-Determination Theory, Fun Integration Theory, and relevant sport motivation research were used to develop the motivations for playing organised sport in the survey and the results are described and discussed based on this information. The main motivations were fun/enjoyment, physical health/fitness, performance/competition and social reasons. Motivations differed between demographic groups and across the lifespan. Sport policy makers and managers should focus on developing flexible and inclusive sporting opportunities that centre, on friendship, fun and skill development, and those diverse intrinsic motivations that better align with participants’ desires to play sport.

The effect of sport consumption on citizens national pride and subjective well-being

The objective of this study was to disentangle the relationships that exist between sporting success, sports consumption (i.e., sport participation, sport spectating and sport media viewing), national pride and subjective well-being. Data was collected from 374 respondents. Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyse the variables that were measured in accordance with previous studies. The model which centred on sports consumption showed a great explanatory capacity (73% and 43%). Sport participation was the factor with the highest impact on national pride and subjective well-being, even greater than the effects of sporting success and sport spectating. Another reason for the importance of citizens being physically active was noted. These results have managerial implications for sports policymakers and managers responsible for national teams and sport participation programmes. No evidence was found that higher levels of national pride directly affect subjective well-being.

Imagining sport in Lithuania: young athletes’ views on safe sport

Sports organisations have a moral and legal duty of care to deliver sport in a safe environment and to promote the welfare of athletes. This right to what has become known as ‘safe sport’ is now firmly established on the global policy agenda. Simultaneously, there is growing understanding of the need to engage with athletes, including those who are children and young people, and involve them in safe sport developments and research to ensure initiatives are effective and (child-) athlete-centred. However, to date most developments and research in this area have excluded athletes. The project presented here, in which researchers delivered a series of workshops on safe sport topics to current youth high-performance athletes in Lithuania, aimed to explore youth athletes’ views on the safe sport issues they consider most relevant to sport in their nation. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were generated through focus group interviews with 17 Lithuanian undergraduate student-athletes (average age 22) from sport-related degrees. Analysis identified doping, overtraining, emotional/psychological abuse, and corruption as the issues the young athletes consider most pertinent to their sporting lives. The project highlights the importance of working with current youth athletes to understand the issues they consider important to their experience to better enable sport policymakers and educators to develop relevant and meaningful safe sport training.

Safe sport for whom?: are national sport organisations addressing the truth and reconciliation commission’s calls to action for sport through safe sport policies?

ABSTRACT We investigated if National Sport Organisation’s (NSO) staff members and safe sport policymakers see safe sport policies as addressing anti-Indigenous racism and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action (CTA) for sport through safe sport policies. To do this, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 participants from eight NSOs and examined these NSOs’ safe sport policies, including equity, diversity, and inclusion policies. The participants and the documents produced three main discourses: 1) Anti-Indigenous racism policies are not required because safe sport policies are inclusive of everyone, including Indigenous peoples; 2) policies alone are insufficient: Safe sport education and resources are needed to address anti-Indigenous racism; 3) the TRC’s CTA are not being treated as a priority by Sport Canada but NSOs want to act on the CTA in consultation with Indigenous organisations. Taken together, these discourses reflect that NSOs are exercising power by leaving anti-Indigenous racism out of safe sport policies and by deciding if, when, and how the TRC’s CTAs such as Call 90 are taken up.

Gender and diversity competence in sport studies programs in higher education

Introduction Inclusion and diversity have become increasingly important in the context of sport in recent years. Numerous sports organizations and sports policymakers are committed to enable more inclusive sport. Led by the idea of a sport for all, everyone should be able to participate in sport regardless of gender, sexuality, dis_ability, race, or class. Inclusive sport does not only require specific structural conditions. It also demands social actors who have the skills to deal with the challenges of social diversity in an open, appreciative, and innovative way. Coaches, officials, teachers, journalists, and economists working in the field of sport need to be familiar with the topics of gender equity, diversity, and inclusion. This is where the project “Understanding and Experiencing Diversity” (funded by the Swiss Federal Office for Sport) comes in. It aims to develop and test a concept for promoting gender and diversity competence in sport-related higher education, thus enabling social actors to shape sport in a diversity-conscious and inclusive way. Methods The project is being carried out over a period of three years and consists of four project phases. After a phase of conceptual clarification regarding the theoretical framework and terminology, current approaches to gender and diversity competence (in the sport studies context) are being critically analysed. Against this background, phases three and four of the project will focus on the development of a sport-related teaching concept for gender and diversity competence and its testing at three different universities. Results/Discussion The understanding of gender and diversity competence developed in this project is theoretically based on the “trilemma of Inclusion” by Boger (2019). It thus refers to inclusion and non-discrimination as a complex structure of normalization, deconstruction, and empowerment. This is also linked to an intersectional perspective on social differentiation and discrimination (Degele & Winker, 2011). Regarding the promotion of gender and diversity competence in higher education, the attitude of social actors towards diversity and inclusion proves to be particularly important. This aspect has not yet been systematically considered in the context of sport-related higher education in German-speaking countries. The teaching concept developed in this project therefore emphasizes the aspect of attitude (Rischke et al., 2017).

Dark Triad and Sport Performance among Pakistani Players Mediating Role of Antisocial Behavior: A Conceptual Study

The study will measure the association between dark triad and sport performance among Pakistani players with mediating role of antisocial behavior. The total sample (N= 495) of Pakistani players will be recruited from an affiliation with a university institute, or club, and national players will be selected in this research. The age range will be 18-35 years of participants. Three instruments will be used to collect the data, Short Dark Triad, and Sport Performance Scale. While in this study Antisocial Behavior Scale will be developed and validated. This study will be conducted in two phases. The phase-1 comprised the exploratory sequential mixed methods research design (tool development) used to explore the domains of antisocial behavior, develop, and validate the antisocial behavior scale. While, phase-2, is quantitative and cross-sectional in nature. The methods and procedures adopted for both phases are given separately. Considering the literature review and objectives of the study, three proposed hypotheses will be tested after the data collection. H1: The indigenous antisocial behavior scale will be valid and reliable among Pakistani players. H2: There will be an association of dark triad personality (Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy) and antisocial behavior with the sports performance of Pakistani players. H3: There will be an influence of dark triad personality (Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy) on the sport performance of Pakistani players with mediating role of antisocial behavior. H4: In the first phase of the study, data will be analyzed through Content Analysis, and in phase 2, the data will be analyzed through SPSS and AMOS to test the psychometrics properties of newly developed Antisocial Behavior Scale, the association between variables and mediation analysis using Structural Equation Modeling. Regarding implications of the study, this study will be helpful for sports psychologists, players, coaches, and sports policymakers. Dark Triad are important personality traits, which can positively and negatively predict sports performance among players. This research will gain the intention of sports psychologists, coaches, and sports policy makers to develop policies regarding personality traits such as dark triad and antisocial behavior. This study recommends to coaches and team selectors during the selection of players, the personality traits of players should also be measured and players who have negative personality traits will be considered for further psychotherapeutic interventions to overcome their negative personality traits, after this so they can enhance their sports performance.

Sport and policy in ‘contested nations’: Analysing policy and political considerations in Taiwan and Scotland

Policy learning from other international contexts is an important strategy during the sports policymaking process for the government of Taiwan, and recent research has examined potential parallels between Taiwan and Scotland with regards to sports policy. Although the status of Taiwan and Scotland is not the same, interesting comparisons can be made given their shared status as ‘contested nations’ that are often in the shadow of their closest neighbours with whom there is an uneasy political relationship – respectively, China and England. As a consequence, sport is regarded in both countries as an important vehicle for establishing and promoting a distinctive identity, albeit with contrasting political and policy considerations. Drawing upon 15 semi-structured interviews with sports policymakers and politicians from both Taiwanese and Scottish contexts, this paper critically examines the similarities and contrasts with regards to the political considerations which shape and constrain the nature of sport policy in each context. This analysis will focus on the role of central government, local government, sport policy organisations, and sporting National Governing Bodies in both Taiwan and Scotland, with particular emphasis on the position of sport within the broader policy, political, ideological and constitutional considerations for policymakers in each context.

Female chairs on the boards of European National Sports Federations: a comparative study

Purpose This study aims to explore the impact of board size, board gender diversity and federation age on the likelihood of having a female chair in National Sports Federations (NSF). Design/methodology/approach A quantitative methodology compares 300 sports boards in five countries (Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the UK), using data collected from NSF’s websites. Findings The board size and federation age have no significant impact on having a female board chair when the countries and the percentage of female directors are included in the model. When the number of women is measured in absolute value rather than in relative terms, the only variable that predicts a woman chair is the country. When the model does not include country differences, the percentage of female directors is key in predicting a chairwoman, and when the number of women is used as a variable instead of the percentage, a board’s smaller size increases the odds of having a chairwoman. Research limitations/implications There are some limitations to this study which we believe provide useful directions for future research. Firstly, the authors have not considered the role of gender typing in sports activities which explains the extent that women participate in specific sports (Sobal and Milgrim, 2019) and the related perception of such sports in society. The social representation of sports activities classified as masculine, feminine or gender-neutral can hypothetically influence women’s access to that specific federations’s leadership. The authors included the country factor only partially, as a control variable, as the social representation of sports usually goes beyond national boundaries. Practical implications This study has implications for sport policymakers and stakeholders, and for institutions such as the IOC or the European Union that implement equality policies. If the aim is to increase female presence in the highest position of a sports board and to achieve gender equality more generally, other policies need to be implemented alongside gender quotas for the sports boards, namely, those specifically related to the recruitment and selection of the sports board chairs (Mikkonen et al., 2021). For example, given the implications of critical mass and its ability to increase more female’s engagement then the role of existing chairs acting as mentors and taking initiative in this objective may be warranted. Furthermore, attention should be paid to the existing gender portfolio of each board and its subsequent influence on recruiting a female chair, regardless of the organization’s age. Knoppers et al. (2021) concluded that resistance to gender balance by board members is often related to discriminatory discourses against women. The normalization of the discourses of meritocracy, neoliberalism, silence/passivity about the responsibility of structures and an artificial defence of diversity emphasise that equality should not only be determined by women (Knoppers et al., 2021). Social implications When countries are included in the model, the results suggest that the social representation of a female board member is different from that of a female board chair. Originality/value The originality of the study is that it shows the factors that constrain women taking up a chair position on NSFs. Theoretically, it contributes to existing literature by demonstrating how a critical mass of females on boards may also extend to the higher and most powerful position of chair.

Women representation and organisational characteristics in sport governance: Implications for gender policy and practice

ABSTRACT Drawing on hegemonic masculinity and critical mass theory, this study investigates the representation of women board members in sport governing bodies (SGB) and the extent to which boards can be assigned to subgroups based on the number and share of women board members. The study examines the organisational characteristics of SGBs with low, medium, and high representation of women on the board. Data were gathered from the websites of German national and state sport associations and federations (n = 930), including information about the size and gender composition of the board and several organisational characteristics (e.g. type of sport, headquarter location, membership figures). On average, SGBs have 1.8 women on the board reflecting a share of 20.1%. Three groups of SGBs emerged from the cluster analysis: Organisations with low (0.08 women; share of women: 0.3%), medium (1.63; 18.4%), and high representation of women (3.87; 42.6%) on the board. These clusters differ significantly regarding organisational characteristics. Specifically, SGBs with low representation of women have on average smaller boards and represent non-Olympic sports or ‘typically masculine’ sports. Sport federations are more frequently represented in the clusters with medium and high representation of women on the board. SGBs in the third cluster represent ‘typically feminine’ sports like dancing or equestrian and have the most women and youth memberships. The findings help sport policy makers target respective groups of organisations with interventions to implement gender policies and explain the important role of such policies for attracting new women board members or gaining legitimacy from public institutions.

Analysis of community sports development based on the sports law for development through sports

This study aims to examine the implementation of community sports development policies in the context of the "development through sport" paradigm. National development through sports in accordance with the mandate of the Sports Law can be started through community sports which are the basis for the goals of developing the sport itself. This study uses a descriptive qualitative approach. This research was conducted in West Java Province using a purposive sampling technique referring to the high sports achievements achieved at the National Sports Week, but it is still low in the sports development index. Interviews, documentation studies, and observations were carried out in the data collection process. To analyze the data collected, we devised seven indicators that are based on the essence of the sports law of the community sports section. The results of this study found that the implementation of the community sports development policy that was implemented was close to conformity with what was stated in the sports law. However, there are still inequalities in some aspects. This happens because there is still a lack of understanding from the government as policy makers, as well as the community as a group affected by the implementation of policies of the importance of sport as an instrument of national development. Therefore, sports policy makers must act immediately in providing solutions to evaluate policies that will be implemented in the future.

The "autonomy" of developing countries in the Olympic Movement: Assessing the fate of sports governance transplants in the Global South.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) imposes very specific ideas on sports governance, more precisely on sports autonomy, on countries joining the Olympic Movement. Given that the idea of sports autonomy originated in the Global North, this article introduces the concept of governance transplants to evaluate the impact that being part of the Olympic Movement has on domestic sports governance in Global South developing countries. The article explores the extent to which the IOC is successful in implementing the norms and regulations on sports autonomy as a governance transplant at the national level in countries from the Global South that are part of the Olympic Movement. The article employs a comparative qualitative case study research design that explores the relations of the IOC, National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and national governments in Botswana, Guatemala and Sri Lanka. Research relies on a mix of document analyses and expert semi-structured interviews conducted during field trips to those countries. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed by means of thematic analysis. The analyses focus on domestic policies and contexts, formal and institutional compliance with sports autonomy, provision of public funding, and participation in national sport policy-making. Findings suggest that national structures and legacies have an impact on the way in which the autonomy of sport, as the governance transplant, is translated in those three countries. Although national governments enjoy some agency in "translating" governance transplants, results also suggest that misfits and tensions persist between governmental and sport stakeholders at the national and international level. Such misfits might force the IOC, as a private transnational regulator, to adopt a more pragmatic view on the enforcing of its governance transplants. The results are of relevance to existing discussions on global sports governance and debates as to whether the countries in the Global North might be able to impose their views and their governance transplants if the Global South gets a greater say in transnational sports governance.

Combining sport and academic career: Exploring the current state of student-athletes' dual career research field

Understanding the Dual Career as the process of combining the athletic career with an academic career or work, the main purpose of this paper is to study the current state of research on this reality. Based on this, a review of the scientific literature published in journals indexed on the Web of Science has been performed. This review consists of a bibliometric analysis, which provides basic bibliometric indicators, the co-authorship and keyword networks, and a thematic analysis of the search. Secondly, a systematic review of the most representative documents of each thematic cluster has been carried out. The results indicate that research on Dual Career is in an intermediate state, where there is a growing interest during the last years, and show that Europe is the main focus of research on this reality, despite the need of further research considering non-European terms to refer to this reality. The paper provides an overview of Dual Career research's current state and may serve as a starting point to guide future research, and help education and sport policy makers to develop better measures to facilitate student-athletes’ Dual Career.

Explaining the Health-Related Factors Affecting the Institutionalization of Sports in Iranian Families

Introduction: The family is the first social institution and sport as a social phenomenon can be institutionalized in the shadow of this small unit. This study aims to explain the health-related factors affecting the institutionalization of sports in Iranian families.
 Methods: The present study seeks to discover the main and sub-main categories with interpretive paradigm and inductive logic with a qualitative approach. The interview used 7 open-ended and semi-structured questions for data collection tools. Experts participating in the study were selected by purposive and snowball sampling and the criterion for selecting experts was to have knowledge and awareness of the literature and the development of health-oriented sports in families. Immediately after each interview, data transcription and extraction were performed simultaneously. Finally, by reviewing the interviews, 21 categories were theoretically saturated in the interview and continued until interview 23. The data were analyzed by content analysis method and coding method.
 Results: In this study, 165 primary extracted codes in the form of 41 sub-main categories and 11 main categories were categorized. They included sports policy, financial support, infrastructure factors, prevention and health, women's sports development, civic sports, educational sports development, cultural attitude, health technology, enacting supportive and incentive laws, and management and planning.
 Conclusions: The results will help the country sport policy makers in order to establish a culture of prevention and maintain the physical and mental health of families. By national planning, sustainable development will be achieved in order to have healthy and effective people.

Strategic thinking and planning behind the development of a sporting event portfolio: the case of Shanghai

ABSTRACT Recent developments regarding event portfolios have renewed research interest in the management and leveraging of sporting events. This study contributes to the topic by examining the purpose of sporting event portfolios and the process of their strategic planning in an Asian context – Shanghai. Guided by strategic planning theories, this paper explores how Shanghai’s sporting event portfolio was developed and why. Empirically, the study draws on extensive data, specifically, policy and strategy documents and interviews with key sport policymakers and sport experts in Shanghai. The results suggest that Shanghai’s event portfolio benefited from more than 20 years of planning and development. Twelve commercial sporting events were carefully handpicked and cultivated to promote destination branding, to advance Shanghai’s reputation as a global city, and to serve other social and economic development agenda. This study offers some important insights for the planning of event portfolios to enhance city image and stimulate regional development.

Strategic Pathology of Sports and Youth Departments of Hamadan Province in the Field of Sports Based on the SWOT Model, Iran

This study's purpose was to understand the strategic pathology of sports and youth departments of Hamadan province, Iran, based on the SWOT model. The research method is a survey. The method used was a survey, and a sample was made up of 135 people. 12 sports experts confirmed questionnaire validity (Alpha Cronbach α = 0.89). The analysis compares the averages and Friedman test and to determine the strategic position, internal factor evaluation matrices (IFE), external factor evaluation (EFE), and internal and external matrix (IE). In this regard, it is concluded that; Hamadan sports policymakers and those involved in sports should focus more on using the existing opportunities by using their internal strengths in two areas: public sports and championships.

TESTING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEIVED CONSTRAINTS AND RECREATIONAL SPORT PARTICIPATION LEVELS IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT IN GREECE

The purpose of this study was to test the relationship between perceived constraints and recreational sport participation in an urban environment. The data were collected from an on-site survey in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece, with a sample of one thousand individuals, participants in recreational sport activities. The Leisure Constraints Questionnaire was used to measure sport related constraints, following the hierarchical model of leisure constraints. The results indicated that the Lack of Interest, Psychological Factors, Lack of Knowledge and Previous Experience had statistically signicant differences among participants and non-participants. All these dimensions can be categorized within the psychological constraints, which is in line with the hierarchical model of leisure constraints. These results propose that these constraints should be targeted by sport policy makers in their effort to promote recreational sports in a more effective way among citizens.

Competitive balance measures and the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis in European football

AbstractCompetitive balance is an important issue in professional sport in general and European football in particular. However, competitive balance is difficult to quantify because competitiveness is multi-dimensional and particular sports are distinctive. We aim to identify the most appropriate index for a holistic view of competitive balance in European football. We use data from eight domestic European football leagues over a time span of 60 years. The indices we consider are specifically designed to capture competitiveness at different levels of performance and in this way reflect the peculiarities of European football leagues. Our findings support the longstanding uncertainty of outcome hypothesis. A bivariate index that captures competitiveness in the top K places is shown to have the highest association with attendance. A seasonal index of champions’ domination is also found to have a large association with attendance. Finally, ranking mobility is found to have a slightly higher association with attendance than seasonal performance. These results imply that sports policy makers should use these indices to assess strategic decisions that may influence competitive balance.