ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses how the containment of Indigenous participation in professional Australian football is framed along common assumptions centred on biological determinism and stereotyped ideas about ambition, many of which have enjoyed currency in Australian society since the early nineteenth century. It aims to consider the social impact of sport from the perspective of socio-cultural diversity and from the perspective of localized processes of social inclusion and exclusion. The book presents a wider historical and comparative approach to the social impact of sport. It focuses on the relationship between sport participation, social inclusion and social change within a range of socio-cultural settings. The book argues that the multilevel manifestations of development dynamics and interrelatedness of different components of sport activities necessitate a multidisciplinary and/or integrated theoretical approach.
