![]() ![]() ![]() Many theorists including Darnell, Coalter, Coakley and Sugden 4-7 contend that the development of social capital or local co-operation cannot nullify greater macro issues, such as a lack of resources, political support and socio-economic realities. While sport can have positive micro-level impact on individuals, this does not necessarily lead to greater outcomes in the community (meso) and society (macro). Wide-ranging, almost-universal claims made by the SDP movement must therefore be treated with caution. While a focus of many SDP organisations is to develope the individual to realise his/her capacity, there appears to be a genuine lack of initiatives that seek to challenge or reform the societal structures and conditions that caused this ‘underdevelopment’ to occur in the first place. 2 Even if sport is applied in the right manner and results in the intended change, there are deeper structural issues that may negate such well-intentioned work. In the most pronounced cases this is reflected with somewhat naïve and idealistic notions of the power of sport. While other disciplines such as health and education have engendered a more critical perspective on the factors causing and constraining development, certain SDP programmes do exhibit an ongoing gap between evidence and practice. ![]() Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) refers to the use of sport to promote varied outcomes beyond the playing field and has been defined as ‘the intentional use of sport, physical activity and play to attain specific development objectives in low- and middle-income countries and disadvantaged communities in high-income settings.’ 1 Stakeholders working in the field for the last two decades include the United Nations, the public sector, the private sector and civil society with an increasing number of SDP initiatives across the globe. An own goal in Sport for Development: time to change the playing field. 1 University of the Western Cape, Department of Sport, Recreation and Exercise Sciences Monitoring and Evaluation Director, Grassroot Soccer, South AfricaĬitation: Sanders, B. ![]()
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