England: A Long Tradition, Adapting to Changing Circumstances

Geoff Nichols () and Matthew James ()
Additional contact information
Geoff Nichols: University of Sheffield
Matthew James: Cardiff Metropolitan University, and University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Chapter Chapter 5 in Functions of Sports Clubs in European Societies, 2020, pp 93-120 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter integrates results of the SIVSCE project survey of clubs and club members in England with other recent research. Results are from the SIVSCE surveys, unless otherwise indicated. The English context is naturally very similar to that of the UK’s other home nations – Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, whilst the findings from this project have revealed some similar club sport trends in England, Germany, Belgium (Flanders), Netherlands and Denmark. For example, the bigger clubs in each of these countries appear to be increasing in size and recruiting more volunteers, whilst the smaller clubs are losing volunteers. This chapter interprets these findings by highlighting the broader contextual factors of history, state policy and wealth distribution. It also considers the apparent trend away from collective club-based sports participation towards more individual and informal sports participation and the policy implications of this regarding sport’s role in delivering change in our communities. Nevertheless, this chapter clearly illustrates that sports clubs in England, as in other European countries, are almost entirely reliant on volunteers for governance and delivery roles. Clubs in England, such as the case studies later referred to, have retained a strong egalitarian ethos, which encourages volunteering and enhances social inclusion.

Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:semchp:978-3-030-48535-1_5

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783030485351

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-48535-1_5

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Sports Economics, Management, and Policy from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().