ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role and impact of sport policies enacted by governments and their national or state/provincial agencies on the development of sport systems and practices. It explores why governments seek to intervene in the operations of sport organizations and the different forms such intervention can take, such as assisting and promoting participation in sport, improving levels of elite performance, using sport to drive economic activity through sport infrastructure development and major events, and also attempting to control and regulate sport. Throughout the chapter, incidents and cases are used to illustrate both the concepts and theories that underpin sport policy and the implications for sport organizations and their leaders that arise from this intervention.
