This book critically examines the ways in which sports contribute to, or inhibit, social well-being, the directions these changes take and the conditions necessary for sport to have beneficial outcomes.

1. Introduction: The Social Impact of Sport: Diversities, Complexities and Contexts Ramón Spaaij Part 1: Sport development and social change: intended and unanticipated consequences 2. The Transnational View of Sport and Social Development: The Case of Dominican Baseball Alan Klein 3. The Glue that Holds the Community Together? Sport and Sustainability in Rural Australia Ramón Spaaij Part 2: Empowerment and personal change through sport 4. Sport as a Post-Disaster Psychosocial Intervention in Bam, Iran Valeria Kunz 5. Esther Phiri and the Moutawakel Effect in Zambia: An Analysis of the Use of Female Role Models in Sport-for-Development Marianne Meier and Martha Saavedra 6. Developing through Sport: Evidencing Sport Impacts on Young People Tess Kay Part 3: Sport participation, social inclusion and social change 7. Engaging Sport-for-Development for Social Impact in the South African Context Cora Burnett 8. Participation in Sport: Bonding and Bridging as Identity Work Jeroen Vermeulen and Paul Verweel 9. Race Relations, Indigenous Australia and the Social Impact of Professional Australian Football Chris Hallinan and Barry Judd Part 4: The impact of sport in society: historical and comparative perspectives 10. Social Functions of High School Athletics in the United States: A Historical and Comparative Analysis Ruud Stokvis 11. The social construction and impact of champions Joseph Maguire 12. Epilogue: Personal and Social Change in and through Sport: Cross-Cutting Themes Ramón Spaaij