Sustaining Sport

Today we are speaking with Chen Chen. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut and writes prolifically about how sport intersects with many troubling trends across the globe including environmental decline and increasing inequality of wealth and power.This episode begins with Chen’s unique story that led him to these topics. Then we use his recent work on how the Dakar rally’s time in South America was a prime example of environmental injustice and even ecological imperia...

Ugandan sports currently grapples with a complex network of interconnected challenges, including severe financial constraints, persistent mismanagement issues, a significant talent drain, and the undeniable impacts of climate change. The question is: how can their sports improve and develop talent without further contributing to the climate crisis?Diving into this question with us is Sharon Muzaki, a budding environmental journalist and sports fan, in Kampala. Of course, such a discussi...

Advertising is supposed to be a way for businesses and entrepreneurs to show you how good their products are. But what if many of the products in adverts are actually bad? They could be bad for you or potentially bad for this planet and its delicately balanced biosphere.Today’s topic is bad advertising. We are talking to researcher Freddie Daley who works as a coordinator for a tremendous organisation called Badvertising. As sport holds a powerful place in the hearts and minds of fans and ath...

The convergence of sport, decoloniality, and the environment presents a labyrinth of intricate ideas, and as we delve into their interconnectedness, the complexity deepens.Joining us on this informative journey is Samuel Clevenger, an Assistant Professor at Towson University in the USA, who has been trying to unpack some of this intersection. We start with the radical concept of decoloniality—an evolution beyond mere decolonisation. Through philosophical references and anecdotes, we raise ins...

The relationship between money and sport is complex…This show has often discussed the issues that arise when the biggest carbon emitters buy or sponsor a sports club, often with the objective of improving their legitimacy or reputation. But this episode goes one step deeper, by looking at the more nuanced capital in-flows that have a few a degrees of separation.For example, the organisations that invest in or fund others to extract fossil fuels, rather than doing it themselves. Additionally, ...

“Sport is not industry: bringing sport back to sport management.”That is the title of a wonderful paper by Hallgeir Gammelsæter, of Molde University College in Norway. The paper argues that sport management, as a discipline, has become overly focused on the management or business aspect, pushing the sports industry into competing as any other form of entertainment.This raises questions about who sport is supposed to serve, as both athletes and fans have arguably become commodities for shareho...

Football fan culture is a highly coveted commodity to many businesses who look to use the spectacle of the game and the love for teams to promote the consumption of their products. But what if this culture was leveraged for more positive outcomes?Jenny Amann, a PhD student at the University of Brighton, recently co-authored a paper with an international expert on fan culture, Mark Doidge. In it, they present their research on how we might mobilise the collective behaviour of sports fans to he...

How does winning an Olympic gold medal in canoeing inform a career in environmental activism?Etienne Stott, and his partner Tim Baillie, won the Men's slalom canoeing C-2 Event at the London 2012 Olympics, making history for Great Britain. Since retiring from competitive sport, Etienne has become increasingly involved with environmental activism, working with organizations such as Extinction Rebellion to raise awareness and push for action.In this episode, we take a deep dive into Etienne's j...

The Republic of Haiti is arguably the unluckiest country in recent history. It sits on a fault line and is regularly barraged by hurricanes. Additionally, it still struggles for social and economic stability after countless colonial injustices and outside interventions followed by dictators, gang violence and corruption. Sport, mainly football/soccer, plays a huge role in the nation’s culture which means it may be a source of relief. But how to leverage this potential in a country seemingly w...

To try to answer this complicated question we have Tristan Niesslein of Niesslein Sustainability Partners on the show. We discuss (1) the contradictions facing motorsport’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact, (2) how it’s time for ‘stick over carrot’ on sustainability regulations, (3) questions about the source of sponsorship funds, and (4) the big issues regarding diversity and inclusivity. We perhaps raise more questions than provide conclusive answers, but it’s essential to kn...

The relationship between the leaders of nation-states and the gatekeepers of sporting mega-events is both powerful and complex. Organisations, such as FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), have revenues in the billions of dollars and are supranational. They have a disproportionate and troubling degree of political power. Much has been written about the environmental and human rights disaster of the men’s football World Cup in Qatar as finally being a step too far in...

Sport is one of the great joys of the human condition for athletes and spectators alike. It can bring happiness, livelihood, physical health, and mental well-being, and provides an education in teamwork, discipline, maturity, and humility. But for this to continue, sports around the world must acknowledge challenges both current and future and both internal and external. Then, steps must be taken to overcome what faces them or risk losing what so many people hold so dear. But what are the cha...

Are regulators doing enough to safeguard people against betting companies and their aggressive customer acquisition strategies?Problem gamblers account for 46% of betting company revenue while making up only 5% of players. Up to 1 in 20 British men will, at least for a time, be a problem gambler, something that can take decades to recover from. So what are regulators doing to help?Here to answer this is Matt Zarb-Cousin, a former teenage problem gambler who went on to co-found Gamban, the awa...

While there is undoubtedly some potential for the sports industry to embrace blockchain technology, thus far it’s been marred by controversy and even criminality.To find out how things can improve, I have been in conversation with industry commentator Pet Berisha of the Sporting Crypto newsletter. He is an optimist of the space but knows a poor product when he sees one. He highlights some areas where crypto brands might be able to provide more significant value to sport.In addition, I have pu...

Up to 20% of all athletes experience a crisis transitioning after retiring from competitive sport, meaning they face severe mental, physical, social, or financial difficulties and are often unable to cope. If you consider how many sports and athletes there are competing globally, this is a significant number, and it is vital more is done to help.Fortunately, researchers like Associate Professor Suzie Cosh, of the University of New England (AU), have been trying to get to the bottom of why thi...

Is your local club ground half empty because everyone is watching the Premier League on TV? Or perhaps you are a local Liverpool FC fan, but cannot ever get a ticket? Dr David Webber has been examining these struggles, dedicating much of his academic career to working out why it is happening and what we can do about it.David postulates that football has become so commercialised that most of us are unable to imagine an alternative that would curb profit-seeking behaviour and restore some socia...

When it comes to books about sport, Radical Football is perhaps in a category all of its own. One-part biography, one-part documentary and one-part call to action.It is a pleasure to have the author Steve Fleming on the podcast to discuss the life of Jürgen Griesbeck and the story of Football for Good. We delve into the complicities of managing a relationship with both resource- and controversy-rich FIFA, what led Steve to set up the inspiring Kick4Life in Lesotho, and where Sport for Develop...

Many pundits have become such long-standing features on certain networks’ sports coverage, that they are in effect the face of the program and are widely marketed to garner interest. But although their famous faces may attract fans that know them to the broadcast, do they give the best possible analysis?My guest today ruffled a few feathers in late March this year when he penned an article criticising the analytical performance of the pundits on BBC and ITV’s coverage of the Six Nations. In d...

In today’s episode, journalist Haley Shapley guides us through the often-misrepresented history of female strength and athleticism. Haley is the author of the book Strong Like Her. Her book presents revelations from cultural history and biographical tales of women who have had to overcome social barriers before having the chance to begin pushing their physical boundaries. These stories have been and continue to be an inspiration to generations of athletes. Haley challenges us to rethink how w...

Nathan McGovern (22) along with other members of the group Just Stop Oil, took to the field of four Premier League games in late March 2022 and attempted to tie themselves to the goalposts. Many fans assumed these young people were merely streakers so jeered as they were effectively removed by security. However, there is more to these actions than mere silliness.Just Stop Oil have been engaging in civil disobedience, a form of resistance whereby protestors refuse to obey the commands of an in...

Katie Cross believes we as sports fans have a huge role to play and that is why she founded Pledgeball. Pledgeball is a way to activate fans to reduce their emissions. In this episode, we discuss how football is so powerful in changing mindsets and making sustainability fun! We also highlight the importance of community engagement and how doing the small things can help to not get overwhelmed in the daunting face of climate change.Action to tackle climate change is desperately needed right no...

Holly Morgan has recently reached the end of her career as a professional footballer. In her 17 years in the game, she struggled against racial abuse and fought hard to keep playing despite the lack of support that woman’s football has received. These experiences have given her meaningful insights into where the problems are and how things can improve.In this episode, we discuss where the real power for change in football lies, why well-meaning attempts to rectify racism (e.g., quotas) are so...

This is an exceptionally complex question to try and answer. It is imperative that such a question is given the respect that it deserves. Therefore, I chose to not rush into this discussion but rather seek out the best possible person to share their insights. And I think I found that person.Lara Rebecca is the host of 'The Keep Smiling Podcast'. She actively shares mental health/eating disorder awareness content and promotes prioritising psychological wellbeing. She is well placed to dive int...

It might seem unlikely to have a strong bond between autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and sport. Yet, this episode shows that there can be a mutually beneficial relationship between the two. Today I am in conversation with Adam Millichip, sports teacher at Tettenhall Wood School in Wolverhampton in the UK. We discuss how important both watching sport and playing sport, where possible, is to a lot of students with ASD. As evidence of this, Adam helped some of his students, inclu...

An Olympic athlete with a passion for sustainability. It would be difficult to find a better guest for the Sustaining Sport podcast and that’s exactly who I spoke to today.Rhydian Cowley is a 2-time Olympic race walker who is dedicating a lot of his time to raising the alarm about climate change.In this episode, we discuss his athletic career followed by his tips and insights into how to live more sustainably while still performing at the highest levels, covering travel, diet, and even mainta...

This episode examines how gambling and sports betting companies keep us betting, despite the odds being against us. One of their primary weapons is that they have a better scientific understanding of our brains and senses than we do. They barrage our senses with sights, sounds, and smells, all of which almost imperceptibly encourage us to stay. Of course, the longer we stay, the more we bet.This has been true for decades, from the casino to the racetrack. However, with the advent of modern te...

This episode explains how bookmakers are guaranteed to make a profit. Many sports betters are under the impression that they are playing ‘against’ the bookmaker. Either they win or you win. This is simply not true.Firstly, there are so many people betting on all the possible outcomes. Secondly, the odds that bookmakers offer are “priced up” so that regardless of the outcome, they will make a margin. In other words, the sum of the implied probability on all outcomes is more than the sum of the...

This episode explains a core understanding of gambling: the House Edge. Using consistent mathematical principles, casinos and bookmakers convert the small edges embedded in their games into a massive and guaranteed profit margin. The key ingredient is scale.The House Edge on a single hand of a single game is a bet only slightly in their favour. But, at the scale of millions of hands played by millions of players, this edge becomes a certain win for the house. This concept is known as the law ...

This is the beginning of a series of episodes that seek to give the listener a much clearer understanding of sports betting. Gambling as an industry is often reviled yet continues to grow. This growth guarantees more people will fall foul of its most negative aspects such as debt and addiction. From the outside, it is easy to say that only fools gamble, but such stigmatization of the victims and overconfidence against gambling’s ruses and has left a culture where most are unprepared to deal w...

Adie Delaney has long understood that sport is not just for exercise, competition, or spectating. Sport can also be an art form and a medium with which to teach. With this foundation, Adie is enjoying a rather unique career. She has a passion for heights and entertaining. She is an athlete and a teacher. And she is combining all of this to educate young people about consent and body autonomy. Speaking to the Sustaining Sport podcast from the Australian island state of Tasmania, Adie tell...

Sportswashing refers to an organisation or state investing in sport to improve its public image. China’s hosting of the upcoming winter games appears to be exactly this, as they attempt to display themselves to the world as a strong and prosperous nation. This is while China stands accused of crimes against humanity amounting to genocide of the Uighur Muslim population.In Episode 5 of the Sustaining Sport podcast, we review the entire history of sportswashing with the Olympic games including ...

David Karasek is a former Olympic swimmer whose passion for sports and competition has not diminished since he stepped out of the pool. Instead, he has been on a journey of self-discovery, learning how valuable and empowering it is to have a positive mindset before you are successful. He argues that believing you are capable of being successful is the essential first step to take as, without it, your self-doubt will impede you in those high-pressure moments. Armed with both this understanding...

The Olympic Games have real value. It is pure sporting competition at the highest level and we as fans love to experience the ups and downs along with athletes. It is also thought to bring prosperity to each new host city via the ‘Olympic Legacy’ which claims to leave behind better infrastructure and long-lasting tourism as well as inspire strong values. But is this legacy truly so positive? In this episode, we discuss how the International Olympic Committee or IOC have created a system where...

Formula 1 is one of the most entertaining and popular sports on the planet. It naturally is the focus of criticism with regards to sustainability as it is a sport about cars and, relative to its size, it emits a huge amount of carbon dioxide. But the source of most of those emissions is not as obvious as you might think. This episode starts by seeing why F1 emissions are so high and what progress they have made in emitting less. Then, it makes the case for how a deeper change in the norms of ...

Women’s football is on the rise but it still has to operate in the shadow of the men’s game due to continued stigmatisation of female athletes and a lack of funding and support from grass roots all the way to the professional game. This episode makes a compelling case for why it benefits us all for women’s football to have its share in the spotlight. It also looks at the extent of the problem and raises some promising ideas to help promote and improve the women’s side of the game.Please...