Social inclusion - Social inclusion and sport: beating the odds or changing the odds?

The chapter begins by illustrating the ambiguity of the notion of social exclusion. It then questions the tendency to view simple sports participation as representing ‘inclusion’ and critically reviews the dominant discourse of sport being inherently inclusive. It then explores the variety of political and ideological perspectives on social inclusion. It discusses the ‘weak’ versions which relate to the characteristics of individuals and ‘strong’ versions which emphasise structural issues of power and inequality. The chapter further explores the redistributionist, social integrationist and moral underclass perspectives. It explores the limitations of using employment as a vehicle for social inclusion and the importance of the concept of underclass underpinning many sport for development programmes. It reviews evidence relating to sports participation and the multi-dimensional concept of social capital. The chapter argues that any conclusions about sport’s contribution to social inclusion are heavily dependent on how it is defined and the socio-cultural and economic context in which a programme operates.