Codes Combined: managing expectations and policy responses to racism in sport

Abstract

This article is a transnational comparative discussion that interrogates responses, particularly formal policy frameworks, to addressing racial vilification in sport. Themes interrogated include racism in sport, sport as an agent for social change, diversity in sport, sport and community harmony, sport and ethnicity, and sport and education. Emphasis is placed on the importance of education as a plank in formal policy responses to addressing on- and off-field racism in elite sport. The article also examines how education is important in enabling greater social participation among groups. National and transnational discussions about respective footballing codes are located within a broader international context by way of comparison with other elite sports.