That Was The Week That Was,
October 6–12, 2025

Dear all,

Last week the following items were publishes 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, Bluesky, LinkedIn and X, you’re missing quite a lot of information from idrottsforum.org that never appears on the website. So, if that is the case, check out, by clicking on the names, our Facebook, Bluesky, LinkedIn and X accounts.

Have a great week,
Kjell Eriksson
Editor

Book Reviews

Managers – the new heroes of sports

Front office executives have become high-profile commentators, movie and video game protagonists, and role models in the world of contemporary sports. In Front Office Fantasies: The Rise of Managerial Sports Media (University of Illinois Press) Branden Buehler examines the media transformation of management figures into esteemed experts and sporting idols. Fred Mason writes a knowledgeable and very appreciative review of Buehler’s book, highlighting the author’s acute observation that managerial sports media collectively repositions White, hegemonic masculinity at the centre of sports. (Review in English, published 251008.)

En sammanställning av hanterande av och agerande vid olyckor och skador i stallet [A summary of what to do in the event of accidents and injuries in the stable]

Equestrianism is practiced by half a million riders in Sweden and is considered one of the most dangerous sports to practice in terms of the number and type of injuries and their severity. The most common cause of riding injuries is the rider falling off or being thrown from the horse’s back, which results in head injuries and broken bones. Säker ridsport: Förebygga, agera och hantera skador [Safe riding: Preventing, acting and managing injuries] by Linn Byman et al. (BoD) is reviewed here by Klara Boije of Gennäs, who sees much that is good but calls for more and specific sources, educational support, and genuine images instead of AI drawings. (Review in Swedish, published 251009.)

A richly researched and compelling account of Britain’s entanglements with apartheid sport

British Sporting Relations with Apartheid South Africa: The Politics of Racism and Anti-Racism, 1948–1994 by Matthew P. Llewellyn and Toby C. Rider (Oxford University Press) represents the first archival-based, historical examination of Britain’s sporting relations with South Africa throughout the apartheid era. Michelle Sikes, prominent scholar of African sport history, finds that the authors demonstrate that sport was bound up in and revealing of debates about Britain’s racial politics and post-imperial identity, making the book a contribution to both sport history and moderna British history. (Review in English, published 251010.)

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.)

• Communication & Sport, Vol. 13, 2025, No. 4 (251006)
• Sports Law, Policy & Diplomacy Journal, Volume 3 , 2025, Number 1 | Open Access Journal (251007)

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

• Call for Papers | The International Football History Conference (AKA FootyCon) 2026 | Fulham Football Club, London, June 12–13, 2026. Call ends January 5, 2026 (251006)
• Call for Papers | International Conference on Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise | University of Toronto, May 11–14, 2026. Call ends November 1, 2025 (251007)
• Call for Papers | “Menopause and Physical Activity”, Special Series for the Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal | Call ends November 17, 2025 (251008)
• Public defence of doctoral thesis | Physical Activity Put Into Context: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Youth’s Physically Active Lives in School by Sara Hoy, Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences | October 17, 2025 (251008)
• Public defense of doctoral thesis | As Agent and Environment: A Biosemiotic Understanding of the Moving Body within Ecology and Technology from Cases in Sport by Margrethe Voll Storaas, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, October 17, 2025 (251009)