Rationalities of goodwill: on the promotion of philanthropy through sports-based interventions in Sweden

ABSTRACT

Organised in public–private partnerships, sports-based interventions for social inclusion are often seen as sites of strategies involving sport associations, social entrepreneurs, volunteers and sponsors in the provision of welfare. Here, we spotlight two midnight football practices acted out in two mid-sized Swedish cities promoting social inclusion, examining, from a governmentality perspective, how supportive community actors conceptualise their charitable contributions enabling opportunities for under-privileged youth to participate in sports. Analysis outlines how actors articulate their particular background, experiences and social networks as resources to provide support, stressing that provision needs to make a difference and support the less fortunate in the community. The provision imbues a political potential, as a means of promoting social change, guided by certain notions of the good society and of the good citizen. Involvement provides a site for realising particular visions of social change, while animating the contributions provided as non-political acts of goodwill.

KEYWORDS:

• Welfare
• governing
• social inclusion
• philanthropy
• charity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

David Ekholm http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6252-9220

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Swedish Research Council for Sport Science [Grant Number 25-2016] and The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society [Grant Number 1086/17].