Managing sporting access and participation

Managing sporting access and participation for the whole population has been widely accepted as a major economic, social and cultural phenomenon at world level (e.g. Collins, 2002; DaCosta and Miragaya, 2002; Hylton, Bramham, Jackson and Nesti, 2001; Llopis-Goig, 2016; Taylor, 2011; Stewart and Nicholson, 2002). Apart from these worldwide concerns, promoting equity of sporting access and encouraging participation for the whole population and for ‘priority groups’ has come to be considered a human right concern in many countries (e.g. Donnelly, 2008; Roy, 2007; Veal, 2015) and has gradually consolidated as a ‘social need’ and a ‘public service’ as part of the Welfare State agenda (Bergsgard, et al., 2007; Coghlan and Webb, 1990; Gratton and Taylor, 1991; Henry and Ko, 2014; Scheerder et al., 2011). More recently, one of the key drivers to promote sports participation has been linked to public health which has attained a level of major governmental concern in Europe and elsewhere (European Commission, 2014; Taylor, 2011).