How and why do sports issues turn into politics? The aim of this paper is to explore how politicization of sports might happen, to show how social movement theory might contribute to such understandings and to contribute to a theoretical understanding of the political mobilization of sports issues. To achieve this aim, we outline a three-dimensional theoretical framework based on social movement theory. Thereafter we present six cases of more-or-less contested sports issues: gender, sexuality, doping, extreme wages, boxing/violence and failed talent development. Finally, we discuss the main features of our theoretical framework in light of these cases. How do political opportunity structures contribute to political mobilization of sports issues? How do cultural factors make a difference in political processes concerning sports? Which actors are involved when contested sports issues occur? The aim of this exploration is to discover how various societal factors addressed in our theoretical framework matter relative to how and why sports issues might turn into politics.

The topic of this article is sport nationalism. Using survey data from 25 countries, the study shows generally high levels of sport nationalism. The results indicate, however, that Western Europe has a lower level of sport nationalism while some less developed countries and Eastern Europe have higher levels. Furthermore, this research looks at how sport nationalism depends on individual and national characteristics. At the individual level, age, religion, income, sport participation, and sport attendance show a positive correlation with sport nationalism, whereas education has a negative correlation. The effect of age varies between countries. More democratic, prosperous, and globalized countries are the least sport nationalistic. Looking at how individual and national factors interact, the individual effect of education depends on the national level of cultural globalization (i.e., a greater negative effect in more globalized countries), and the individual effect of income depends on gross domestic product.

Research Question: This research investigates Norwegian football clubs’ participation in the Quality Club Programme (QCP) as a case of professionalization consisting of two stages – short term: more education, knowledge and documentation as well as better skills and improved organizational structure; long term: potential problems related to bureaucracy and full-fledged professions. In light of this distinction, the researchers ask the clubs why they take part in QCP and what they want to get out of it. This paper also invites reflections on the more troublesome part of voluntary organizations’ participation in processes of professionalization. Finally, we explore what the clubs understand to be the driving forces behind the programme and discuss whether these factors are conducive to the aims that the clubs have for their participation. Research Methods: The data comprise semi-structured interviews with 22 football clubs analysed by theme-based coding and categorization. Results and Findings: Clubs take part in QCP because they are expected to (i.e. institutionalization), to increase their autonomy and to improve their control over important resources: volunteers (i.e. resource dependency). To achieve this, the clubs see better routines, more predictability and improved structure as imperative. This study’s results show that what clubs report as making the programme function does not always work in favour of the clubs’ aims. Implications: The findings indicate that broad, multi-institutional approaches and action-oriented theories are necessary for understanding the choices and actions of voluntary sport clubs. Also shown is how the tools chosen for organizational development could be contrary to organizations’ aims.

We study problems experienced by sports clubs from nine European countries – Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, England, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Spain – and factors – national characteristics and organizational capacities – explaining variation in problem perceptions. Data is surveys of more than 30,000 sport clubs. We investigate five types of club problems: recruitment/retention of members, recruitment/retention of volunteers at the board level, recruitment/retention of coaches/instructors, financial situation of clubs and availability of sport facilities. We found that human resource problems were widespread in Denmark and Germany and least common in Belgium. In Hungary, Poland, and Spain, finances and facilities stood out as the most reported problems. Some capacities – negative financial balance, planning capacity and social climate – have systematic and direct implications for those involved, whereas others – size and professionalization – are more difficult to interpret systematically and harder to link to strategic policy actions.

Few quantitative studies have looked at how reasons for quitting organized sports vary according to social backgrounds. The present paper addresses this gap by investigating how youths’ perceptions of six reasons for dropping out of organized youth sports vary according to three types of social inequality: socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and gender. We utilize data from the 2015 Young in Oslo survey, where organized youth sport dropouts in grades 8–13 rated the importance of six reasons for dropping out (N = 2355, response rate = 72%). Two findings stand out. First, gender differences were subtle and often related to ethnicity; they were more pronounced among majority youths than minority youths. Second, well-resourced majority youths were more likely to consider a lack of sports skills and friends who quit as important to dropout while minority youths with less resources more often highlighted discouragement from parents and sport expenses.