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Sport is one of the great joys of the human condition for athletes and spectators alike. It can bring happiness, livelihood, physical health, and mental well-being, and provides an education in teamwork, discipline, maturity, and humility. But for this to continue, sports around the world must acknowledge challenges both current and future and both internal and external. Then, steps must be taken to overcome what faces them or risk losing what so many people hold so dear. But what are the challenges and what steps can be taken?
Here we seek to address exactly that! Regular themes include sexism, climate change, racism, sponsorship ethics, mental health, social justice, the list goes on and on! We will also discuss potential remedies and look at how we as individuals can make a difference. It begins with a conversation. It may lead to raising awareness and mobilising people to question norms and behaviours. And hopefully, it will end with meaningful change.
Please remember the views expressed in this podcast may no longer be current when you hear them. My views are my own. As are my guests, who, while valued here for their insights, do not necessarily always reflect the values of this Sustaining Sport and do not speak on behalf of the show. Contact: benmole@sustainingsport.com
37 Episodes
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Alaukik Shrivastava is a legal scholar and Assistant Professor at Nirma University in Gujarat, India. He joins us here to discuss the fascinating and fast-growing industry of fantasy sports. India has a notable legal approach to gaming versus gambling. The line between games of chance and games of skill is a fine one, and it's something that regulators are struggling to get on top of.We have discussed in previous episodes how open-access gambling can be very harmful to society. But there is a...
Madeleine Orr is an Assistant Professor of Sport Ecology at the University of Toronto. She is also a co-founder of the Sport Ecology group, and in early May she will be releasing a brand-new book called “Warming Up, How Climate Change is Changing Sport” which, as you may guess, focuses on how sport is adapting to and wrestling with climate change.From seasonal sports' responses to climate shifts to using community sports facilities during natural disasters, this episode promises an eye-openin...
Today we are speaking with Chen Chen. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut and writes prolifically about how sport intersects with many troubling trends across the globe including environmental decline and increasing inequality of wealth and power.This episode begins with Chen’s unique story that led him to these topics. Then we use his recent work on how the Dakar rally’s time in South America was a prime example of environmental injustice and even ecological imperia...
Ugandan sports currently grapples with a complex network of interconnected challenges, including severe financial constraints, persistent mismanagement issues, a significant talent drain, and the undeniable impacts of climate change. The question is: how can their sports improve and develop talent without further contributing to the climate crisis?Diving into this question with us is Sharon Muzaki, a budding environmental journalist and sports fan, in Kampala. Of course, such a discussi...
Advertising is supposed to be a way for businesses and entrepreneurs to show you how good their products are. But what if many of the products in adverts are actually bad? They could be bad for you or potentially bad for this planet and its delicately balanced biosphere.Today’s topic is bad advertising. We are talking to researcher Freddie Daley who works as a coordinator for a tremendous organisation called Badvertising. As sport holds a powerful place in the hearts and minds of fans and ath...
The convergence of sport, decoloniality, and the environment presents a labyrinth of intricate ideas, and as we delve into their interconnectedness, the complexity deepens.Joining us on this informative journey is Samuel Clevenger, an Assistant Professor at Towson University in the USA, who has been trying to unpack some of this intersection. We start with the radical concept of decoloniality—an evolution beyond mere decolonisation. Through philosophical references and anecdotes, we raise ins...
The relationship between money and sport is complex…This show has often discussed the issues that arise when the biggest carbon emitters buy or sponsor a sports club, often with the objective of improving their legitimacy or reputation. But this episode goes one step deeper, by looking at the more nuanced capital in-flows that have a few a degrees of separation.For example, the organisations that invest in or fund others to extract fossil fuels, rather than doing it themselves. Additionally, ...
“Sport is not industry: bringing sport back to sport management.”That is the title of a wonderful paper by Hallgeir Gammelsæter, of Molde University College in Norway. The paper argues that sport management, as a discipline, has become overly focused on the management or business aspect, pushing the sports industry into competing as any other form of entertainment.This raises questions about who sport is supposed to serve, as both athletes and fans have arguably become commodities for shareho...
Football fan culture is a highly coveted commodity to many businesses who look to use the spectacle of the game and the love for teams to promote the consumption of their products. But what if this culture was leveraged for more positive outcomes?Jenny Amann, a PhD student at the University of Brighton, recently co-authored a paper with an international expert on fan culture, Mark Doidge. In it, they present their research on how we might mobilise the collective behaviour of sports fans to he...
How does winning an Olympic gold medal in canoeing inform a career in environmental activism?Etienne Stott, and his partner Tim Baillie, won the Men's slalom canoeing C-2 Event at the London 2012 Olympics, making history for Great Britain. Since retiring from competitive sport, Etienne has become increasingly involved with environmental activism, working with organizations such as Extinction Rebellion to raise awareness and push for action.In this episode, we take a deep dive into Etienne's j...
The Republic of Haiti is arguably the unluckiest country in recent history. It sits on a fault line and is regularly barraged by hurricanes. Additionally, it still struggles for social and economic stability after countless colonial injustices and outside interventions followed by dictators, gang violence and corruption. Sport, mainly football/soccer, plays a huge role in the nation’s culture which means it may be a source of relief. But how to leverage this potential in a country seemingly w...
To try to answer this complicated question we have Tristan Niesslein of Niesslein Sustainability Partners on the show. We discuss (1) the contradictions facing motorsport’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact, (2) how it’s time for ‘stick over carrot’ on sustainability regulations, (3) questions about the source of sponsorship funds, and (4) the big issues regarding diversity and inclusivity. We perhaps raise more questions than provide conclusive answers, but it’s essential to kn...
The relationship between the leaders of nation-states and the gatekeepers of sporting mega-events is both powerful and complex. Organisations, such as FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), have revenues in the billions of dollars and are supranational. They have a disproportionate and troubling degree of political power. Much has been written about the environmental and human rights disaster of the men’s football World Cup in Qatar as finally being a step too far in...
Sport is one of the great joys of the human condition for athletes and spectators alike. It can bring happiness, livelihood, physical health, and mental well-being, and provides an education in teamwork, discipline, maturity, and humility. But for this to continue, sports around the world must acknowledge challenges both current and future and both internal and external. Then, steps must be taken to overcome what faces them or risk losing what so many people hold so dear. But what are the cha...
Are regulators doing enough to safeguard people against betting companies and their aggressive customer acquisition strategies?Problem gamblers account for 46% of betting company revenue while making up only 5% of players. Up to 1 in 20 British men will, at least for a time, be a problem gambler, something that can take decades to recover from. So what are regulators doing to help?Here to answer this is Matt Zarb-Cousin, a former teenage problem gambler who went on to co-found Gamban, the awa...
While there is undoubtedly some potential for the sports industry to embrace blockchain technology, thus far it’s been marred by controversy and even criminality.To find out how things can improve, I have been in conversation with industry commentator Pet Berisha of the Sporting Crypto newsletter. He is an optimist of the space but knows a poor product when he sees one. He highlights some areas where crypto brands might be able to provide more significant value to sport.In addition, I have pu...
Up to 20% of all athletes experience a crisis transitioning after retiring from competitive sport, meaning they face severe mental, physical, social, or financial difficulties and are often unable to cope. If you consider how many sports and athletes there are competing globally, this is a significant number, and it is vital more is done to help.Fortunately, researchers like Associate Professor Suzie Cosh, of the University of New England (AU), have been trying to get to the bottom of why thi...
Is your local club ground half empty because everyone is watching the Premier League on TV? Or perhaps you are a local Liverpool FC fan, but cannot ever get a ticket? Dr David Webber has been examining these struggles, dedicating much of his academic career to working out why it is happening and what we can do about it.David postulates that football has become so commercialised that most of us are unable to imagine an alternative that would curb profit-seeking behaviour and restore some socia...
When it comes to books about sport, Radical Football is perhaps in a category all of its own. One-part biography, one-part documentary and one-part call to action.It is a pleasure to have the author Steve Fleming on the podcast to discuss the life of Jürgen Griesbeck and the story of Football for Good. We delve into the complicities of managing a relationship with both resource- and controversy-rich FIFA, what led Steve to set up the inspiring Kick4Life in Lesotho, and where Sport for Develop...
Many pundits have become such long-standing features on certain networks’ sports coverage, that they are in effect the face of the program and are widely marketed to garner interest. But although their famous faces may attract fans that know them to the broadcast, do they give the best possible analysis?My guest today ruffled a few feathers in late March this year when he penned an article criticising the analytical performance of the pundits on BBC and ITV’s coverage of the Six Nations. In d...
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