Football is the most popular sport in the world. Globalisation and commercialisation of the game, however, have created new conflicts and challenges. This book explores the role of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) within the rising significance of football in Asia, drawing on three key theoretical perspectives: globalisation, neo-institutionalism and governance, as well as comprehensive data from interviews and archive material. It explores the organisational structure of AFC, its decision-making processes, relations with other actors, and policies put forward. To understand the...

This book explores the rise and increased acceptance of gambling in America, particularly the growth of the game of poker, as a means for examining changes to the American Dream and the risk society. Poker both critiques and reinterprets the myth of the American Dream, putting greater emphasis on the importance of luck and risk management while deemphasizing the importance of honesty and hard work. Duncan discusses the history of gambling in America, changes to the rhetoric surrounding gambling, the depiction of poker in the Wild West as portrayed in film, its recent rise in popularity on...

Society is obsessed with categorising and treating individuals and groups according to their physical and non-physical differences, such as sex, gender, disability and race. This treatment can lead to the inclusion or exclusion of an individual from the tangible and intangible benefits of society. Where this practice becomes discriminatory, legal frameworks can protect human rights and ensure that people are treated with due respect for their similarities and differences. In a sporting context, the inclusion and exclusion of athletes based upon their differences is often a necessary part...

In Football and Accelerated Culture, Steve Redhead offers a new and challenging theorisation of global football culture, exploring the relationship between sport and culture in a rapidly shifting world. Incorporating cutting-edge concepts, from accelerated culture and claustropolitanism to non-postmodernity, he reflects on the demise of working class football cultures and the rapid media globalisation of 'the people's game'.

Drawing on international empirical research and a unique and ground-breaking study of football hooligan memoirs, the book delves into a wide array of...

As Islam's visibility in global society increases, Muslim populations grow, and Muslim countries compete to take up positions at the heart of global sport, the interplay between sport and Islam becomes ever more illuminating. Sport in Islam and in Muslim Communities is the first book to analyse this relationship through a pluralist lens, exploring the questions it raises about contemporary Islam, globalisation, and the challenges faced by (in particular young) Muslims in negotiating their place in global society.

With contributions from Muslim and non-Muslim authors, the book...

Social inequalities in wider society are often reproduced in sport and leisure contexts. However, sport and leisure can be sites of resistance as well as oppression; they can be repressive or effect positive social change. This challenging and important book brings together cases examining different dimensions of inequality in sport and leisure (race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability and class), presenting research-based strategies in support of social justice by placing disadvantaged communities centre stage. It covers topics such as coaching, anti-racism, Muslim...

Understanding the motivations behind those who partake in extreme sports can be difficult for some. If the popular conception holds that the incentive behind extreme sports participation is entirely to do with risking one s life, then this confusion will continue to exist. However, an in-depth examination of the phenomenology of the extreme sport experience yields a much more complex picture.

This book revisits the definition of extreme sports as those activities where a mismanaged mistake or accident would most likely result in death. Extreme sports are not necessarily synonymous...

We have entered into a new fitness boom characterized by interactive and customizable technology, from active video games such as Wii Fit to fitness apps and 'wearables'. This is the first book to examine these developments through a critical scholarly lens. It argues that human-technology relationships in fitness are now qualitatively different, requiring the consumption and production of information, a shift to 'prosumption' and interactivity. It examines the origins of these trends and implications for wider society, with the new tech rewarding some individuals and groups over others. A...

Whilst being an ambiguous and contested concept, sustainability has become one of the 21^st century s most pervasive ideas, as humanity s increasing impact on the environment, as well as increasing social and economic inequalities, have local and global consequences. Surfing is a globally recognised cultural phenomena whose unique connection with nature and rapid expansion into a multibillion pound industry offers exciting synergies for exploring various dimensions of sustainability.

This book is the first to bring together the world s foremost experts on the themes of...

Riding, training and caring for horses are visceral experiences that require the immersion of both body and mind. This book provides an in-depth understanding of human horse relationships and interactions as embodied in equestrian sport and leisure.

As a closely focused ethnographic study of the horse world, it explores the key themes of partnership and collaboration in human horse communication, the formation of individual and collective identities performed through involvement in the horse world, and human horse interaction as an embodied way of being. This book argues...