Dear all,
Would you like to help out?
The Board of the Swedish Sports Science Research Council is looking for insight and comparison of international conditions for funding opportunities related to research in the field of sports. They would appreciate it if you could help them by sharing your knowledge and experience from your own country by answering this very short survey. It is a small inquiry that is intended for internal use only, to inspire the work of the Sports Science Research Council, and it is not part of any scientific project. Thanks for helping out!
Last week the following items were published on idrottsforum.org (see below; language and publication dates, YYMMDD, in brackets). Click on the red headings to go to content. Utilize the Google Translate service to turn Scandinavian language pages into (some sort of) English.
Have a great week,
Kjell Eriksson
Editor
Feature Articles
Arbetet mot läktarvåld och andra ordningsstörningar – vad andra länder har lärt av Sverige [The work against stadium violence and other disturbances – what other countries have learned from Sweden]
The current government inquiry tasked with presenting measures to reduce crowd violence and other disturbances at sporting events, led by Anders Hübinette, is to report on its mission in March–April 2025. Suggested last minute reading for the investigator is this article by Jonas Havelund, Anders Almgren & Filip Lundberg Verendel, where the authors argue well for looking at what has already been done in Sweden against disturbances in connection with football matches, measures whose effectiveness has attracted international attention among researchers and practitioners. (Published in Swedish 250227.
Everyday running – a lifestyle and a podcast
Running is all the rage, books are published on a scale rarely seen. So, we introduce Andy Fuller’s Everyday Runners Podcast. Apart from his podcast Andy is an independent researcher and a co-founder of Reading Sideways Press. If you are, or want to be, or want to know more about the everyday runner, you can do worse than to be a regular follower of this podcast. The podcast interviews are part of a research process for a book about the practices and projects of running which we undertake in our everyday lives. (Published in English 250227.
Book Reviews
Idrettssosiologi [Sport sociology], by Arve Hjelseth, Lone Friis Thing & Anne Tjønndal
What is the meaning of sport? How is it organized? What are the consequences of the professionalization, digitalization, and technologization of sport? Is sport for everyone, or does it emphasize and reinforce social inequality? Arve Hjelseth’s, Lone Friis Thing’s and Anne Tjønndal’s book «Idrettssosiologi» (Fagbokforlaget) looks at questions such as these through a sociological lens, and do so, according to Johan Högman, very successfully. A few critical points notwithstanding, our reviewer is very happy with the way the authors apply sociological theory to the phenomenon of sport. (Book in Norwegian, review in English, published 250225.)
Nasjonalidretter: En reise gjennom sport og politikk over fem kontinenter [National sports: A journey through sports and politics across five continents], by Fred Radenbach
What makes one in four Chinese people watch an Olympic table tennis match and Pakistanis vote for a cricket captain as prime minister? Why do Brazilians believe that the martial art capoeira shows “the real Brazil”? The answers can be found in Fred Radenbach’s book Nasjonalidretter: En reise gjennom sport og politikk over fem kontinenter, which is reviewed here by historian John Berg. Our reviewer finds the book enjoyable and interesting to read, but lacks the meticulousness that usually characterizes writings with scientific claims. (Book in Norwegian, review in Swedish, published 250228.)
New Blog Post
Will the government’s online gambling advertising legislation ever eventuate? Don’t bet on it, by David Rowe
AS THE NEXT FEDERAL ELECTION came into view before the summer break, concern increased that Labor wouldn’t be honouring its commitment to introduce new restrictions on online (especially sport) gambling advertising during the current parliamentary sitting. Those fears were well-founded, despite pressure from many sides and broad bipartisan political support.The Greens made a last-ditch attempt to cooperate with the government to pass some reforms in the February 2025 sitting, but were rebuffed. Instead, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland blamed the delay on the complexity of advertising reform and… (Published in English 250227.)
New Issues of Scholarly Journals
(We’re currently reviewing this service, since it’s a rather time-consuming undertaking. In the meanwhile we’re presenting some of the journals in line with the Forum’s core mission.)
The International Sports Law Journal, Vol. 23, 2023, Issue 2 (250224)- Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, Volume 30, 2025, Issue 1 (250224)
- The International Journal of the History of Sport, Volume 41, 2024, Issue 10–11 | Field Hockey Narratives: History, Heritage, And Communities (250224)
- Sport, Education and Society, Volume 30, 2025 Issue 2 (250226)
- Journal of Sport & Social Issues, Vol. 49, 2025, No. 1 (250301)
News items (calls for papers, vacancies, etc.)
- Call for Papers | “Hvordan gør humanistisk og samfundsvidenskabelig idrætsforskning en forskel?”, National Konference om humanistisk-samfundsvidenskabelig idrætsforskning | Københavns Universitet, den 15 augusti 2025. Deadline den 1 maj, 20 (250224)
- Call for Papers and other contributions to Play the Game 2025 | Tampere, Finland, October 5–8, 2025. Call ends May 15, 2025 (250224)
- Call for Papers | British Society of Sports History Annual Conference | Ulster University, Belfast, August 21–22, 2025. Call ends May 7, 2025 (250225)
- Call for Papers | “Theories, Sport, and the Global South”, Special Issue of the Journal of Global South Sport Studies | Call ends May 1, 2025 (250302)
