Building sustainability in sport:a clear offside or chance for a "slow" rebirth?

Abstract

Training, selection, peaking, workloads are common notions associated with our society. However, these concepts are also inherent in sport as well, where ‘the winner takes all’. Thus the logic of modern sport resembles the capitalist milieu in which it has evolved: individualism, competitiveness, peak performance, and productivity are all essential components. Modern sport is also often depicted as being a remedy to society’s ills, making sport a linchpin of the population's well-being: empowering control over health, educating people to reach their goals or serving as a good example for future generations. But there is a danger that modern sport is primarily becoming a tool for generating profit. The aim of this paper is to formally examine how sport is related to the principles of sustainability, and its potential impact on well-being. Although several project aims to safeguard three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, social and economic values, drawing on a growing body of scholarships on sustainability best and worst practice, this article discusses the environmental, social and economic consequences of sport activities, using the aspect of society and insights from sport mega-events.