ABSTRACT
Though sport is often portrayed as a new entrant to the field of global development, a growing array of Sport for Development (SFD) organizations have demonstrated impressive staying power, while a robust body of scholarship has emerged to critically analyse the sport-development interface. This chapter assesses the role of SFD within global development, by: (1) sketching the trajectory of development thinking in terms of ‘top-down’ versus ‘bottom-up’ orientations; (2) situating SFD in relation to these dynamics; (3) discussing the ways in which top-down and bottom-up SFD have been integrally connected; and (4) exploring the potential for more equitable forms of engagement between top-down and bottom-up SFD. More than most forms of development praxis, SFD has been distinguished by co-dependence between top-down and bottom-up dynamics. While this situation has provided clear advantages to actors from both ‘sides’, it has also limited the relevance of sport in addressing the underpinnings of persistent poverty, inequality, and marginalization. SFD actors need to develop a better understanding of the structural differences between these orientations, a higher level of critical distance between top-down and bottom-up SFD actors, and a closer relationship between SFD organizations and actors in other development domains.
