Although there is growing interest from governments in participation levels in sport, the extent to which governments actively promote ‘sport for all’ and their motives for doing so vary greatly. This is the first book to examine the sport participation policies of national governments across the world and to offer a comparative analysis of the motives for, and successes and failures of those policies.

Organized around a series of sixteen national case studies, including the UK, the US, Australia, China and India, the book enables students and practitioners to compare and contrast the development, implementation and impact of sport participation policies throughout the world. An introductory chapter provides a framework for understanding and interpreting those case studies and each chapter then addresses the following key themes:

• national structures for sport
• national sporting cultures
• participation levels in organized sport
• the nature and extent of government intervention
• implementation of governmental policy
• the impact of government policy.

With contributions from many of the world’s leading experts on sport policy and sport development, this book is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the role of governments in relation to supporting and regulating their citizens’ involvement in sport.