Full Description
This book critically examines the intersection of football, development and peacebuilding through diverse case studies across global contexts. Drawing on the author's 20 years' experience of research and practice in sport-for-development across six continents, the book explores the potential of football as a unifying force and a tool of positive social change.
Analysing initiatives in Northern Ireland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Russia, Albania, Venezuela, Liberia, and Australia, the book examines the socio-political landscapes of these regions, assessing the effectiveness of football-based programmes in promoting social integration, development and peace, and in addressing challenges such as poverty, health, inequality and violence. Emphasising the importance of cultural sensitivity, collaborative partnerships and critical reflection, the book offers insights into the complexities, challenges, limitations and potential of football-for-development initiatives.
Featuring important perspectives on research, methodology, ethics, implementation and practice, this book is essential reading for any advanced student, researcher or practitioner with an interest in sport development, sport management, football studies, development studies, or the wider relationships between sport and society.
Contents
Acknowledgements, 1. Football, development and peace: concepts, theories, agencies, and methods, 2. Northern Ireland after the Omagh bombing: An introduction to community peace projects and the role of professional football clubs in sports diplomacy, 3. Football and peace promotion in post-war Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia: From Sarajevo to Srebrenica, 4. Engaging with victims of terrorism in Russia: Football as a 'decoy' in Beslan, 5. Football and the reintegration of asylum seekers and immigrants in Albania, 6. Providing refuge and education in the 'murder capital of the world': TEFL and futsal in Venezuela, 7. Playing football and building peace? Reintegrating child ex-combatants in Liberia, 8. Soccer, African refugees, and First Nations communities in Australia, 9. The impacts, challenges, and limitations of short-term football-for-development projects, List of abbreviations, References
