Vol. 2 No. 1 (2018)

Special issue on Sport As a Means of Social Inclusion and Exclusion

Edited by Honorata Jakubowska

Sport plays an important role in the processes of social inclusion, as well as social exclusion. A number of categories of athletes and fans have been excluded from taking part in sport competitions and sport events. The situation of women in the history of sport may serve as an example, alongside current status of female athletes and fans in several Muslim countries or the discriminatory practices towards Black athletes during Apartheid in South Africa. At the same time, sport gives opportunities to support and acknowledge the marginalized individuals and groups of people, reflected through taking part in the Olympic Games under the Olympic flag or through football clubs and football fans’ attitudes towards refugees. Moreover, sport is perceived as a tool for social change, enabling mobility and improvement of social status for the individuals and collective. Although, the issues of sport have been already analyzed in a number of publications (e.g. Kennett 2013; Spaaij, Magee and Jeanes, 2014; Collins, 2014), the global political situation and the socio-cultural changes in different countries constantly provide the new contexts and cases to the sociological analysis.