6–10 Jun 2022
Tübingen
Europe/Berlin timezone

Sport clubs: the future of activism? A scoping review highlighting how sport clubs are embracing a new role

Speaker

Eva Wolzok

Description

Sport-based activism refers to the specific actions carried out by clubs to address societal issues and reinstate that clubs do not operate in isolation from broad society. It is a domain where inequalities can be highlighted, challenged and potentially solved. Through a scoping review, comprising of both academic journals and grey literature, identification of this new phenomenon is explored. This approach enables a high volume of information to be synthesised, providing an overview of what has been investigated thus far while also highlighting knowledge gaps for potential future research. This paper aims to answer the following questions: “Which sport clubs are leading activism?”; “What areas of activism are they undertaking?”; and “To what extent is this phenomenon discussed in ‘the literature’?”. Many people today watch more sport programs than news programs; clubs are a central part of mainstream culture and occupy a prominent role in the lives of many people. This article explores the ways in which sport clubs engage with activism and with their corporate social responsibility. There have been comprehensive analyses of sporting figures such as Naomi Osaka and Colin Kaepernick in terms of their personal activism agendas with a view to improve not only their sport but to effect long-lasting social change. While a rise has been seen in research concerning individual activism in sport, the engagement of activism at institutional levels remains largely unexplored in sport research. Given the impact of activism and advocacy of individual athletes, this article suggests that sports clubs may hold further potential to achieve sustainable positive change within their own communities. With the prospective of a wider reach, sporting institutions may be posited as role models for broader systemic social changes.

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