That Was The Week That Was,
October 5–11, 2026

Dear all,

My extended weekend stay in London is drawing to close, and in order not to make Monday, the last morning in this great city for now unnecessary cumbersome, I will send this letter soon, that is, on Sunday evening.

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.

And remember, if you’re not already hooked up to one of the social media outlets that we utilize, for now they are Facebook, LinkedIn and X, you’re missing quite a lot of information from idrottsforum.org that never appears on the website; this week 25 updates on each, the same on all three. So, if that is the case, check out, by clicking on the names, our Facebook, LinkedIn and X accounts.

Have a great week,
Kjell Eriksson
Editor

Feature Articles

The Strange Case of The Foul Weather Fan

Most football fans want their team to win and be successful. We all know about the fair-weather fan, who supports his team avidly – albeit only if they are winning. But there is a strange kind of fan, a foul-weather fan, who wants their own team to lose. In this article, Alfred Archer, an Associate Professor of philosophy at Tilburg University, tries to make sense of this kind of fandom and to argue that it is not such a strange kind of fandom after all. And our philosopher has found an incredible empirical case – Íbis Sport Club of Brazil. (Published in English 261006.)

Læringsrum og lærerroller i boldspil [Learning environments and teacher roles in ball games]

In this article, Bjarke Andreasen draws upon a chapter he published in Yubio – Idrætsdidaktik, as well as on classroom observations and practical experience as a teacher in the Sports Science program at Aarhus University—elements that constitute the study’s empirical basis. The article adopts a pedagogical focus and offers a theoretical framework to inform the choice between different teaching roles and learning spaces when teaching ball sports, and to address how such instruction can balance the focus between technical skill development and broader educational goals. The article encourages reflection on the teacher’s positioning and examines how the choice of learning space and teaching role can be adapted to the target group, the objective, and the instructional content. (Published in Danish 261008.)

Book Reviews

What distinguishes and connects us: an exploration of identity, diversity and inclusion from the perspective of cultural sport psychology

Bringing together the most prestigious writings on culture and inclusion in sport and physical activity from the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, the collection Culture and Inclusion in Sport and Physical Activity, edited by Robert J. Schinke, Alesandro Quartiroli & Tatiana V. Ryba (Routledge), provides an essential reference for the field. Our reviewer is Mayte Ortiz-Romero, and she liked this interesting collection of studies and reflections on culture, inclusion, and sport psychology, which will be of great value for scholars and students interested in cultural sport psychology. (Review in English, published 261005)

A strong mapping of the research field, but lacking in critical acuity

Drawing from empirical research, diverse case studies, and industry insights, the collected volume Technology, Sport and Recreation by Jacob Bustad & Gashaw Abeza (Routledge) explores technologies such as wearable fitness devices, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality, esports platforms, digital media, and smart sport-tech solutions. Our three reviewers from the RESPONSE Research Group at Nord University are mostly concerned with the lack of critical approaches to technology in sports, but found much to appreciate in the coverage of how technology is developed and utilized in sports. (Review in English, published 261007.)

New Blog Post

Anger, remorse, conspiracy theories: how sports fans cope when their club does wrong, by David Rowe

Manchester City, one of the world’s biggest sporting clubs, has been found guilty by the English Premier League of 114 breaches of its financial rules. The amount in question is close to a staggering £1 billion (A$1.9 billion). Dyed-in-the-wool fans are acutely sensitive to slights against their teams. So, when caught up in a major sport controversy, their response is often visceral. Sport communication researchers describe a process of “moral uncoupling” through which those fans who identify most deeply with their team separate themselves from its most troubling transgressions when experiencing “collective shame”. While some Manchester City fans say they accept there might have been wrongdoing and are “devastated”, “angry” and “sad”… (Published in English 261005.)

Scholarly Journals

Since its inception 23 years ago, idrottsforum.org has been proudly presenting every new issue of almost all scholarly journals within the field of sport studies, widely defined. However, after carefully considering the whole situation – with increasing number of journals and number of issues per journal – we have decided to let go of the original ambition; it has become too time-consuming. Henceforth we will publish alerts about new journal issues on our social media accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn and X), and also special alerts when particularly interesting articles in scholarly journals are published online, giving priority to open access publications. The Scholarly Journals page will list all journals within the extended sport studies field for your information, and we will endeavor to update it with any new titles being launched.

News items (calls for papers, vacancies, etc.)

• Call for Abstracts | Sport, Emotions, and Social Life: Exploring Affective Dimensions of Contemporary Sporting Cultures, a session in the RC58 at the ISA World Congress of Sociology | Gwangju, Republic of Korea, July 4–10, 2027. Call ends October 14, 2026 (261005)
• Call for Papers | “The Road to LA28: Research and Perspectives”, Special Issue of Journal of Olympic Studies | Call ends November 1, 2026
• Call for Papers | Cricket Research Network Annual Conference | Old Trafford Cricket Ground, February 18, 2027. Call ends November 20, 2026
• Lediga platser | Doktorand inom idrottsvetenskap med inriktning pedagogik, till GIH | Sista ansökningsdag den 22 oktober 2026