ABSTRACT
In early 2009, international communities were struggling to understand the significance of the New Depression – its causes, its duration, its consequences and its possible solutions. The global crisis that began in the summer of 2007 with the onset of a credit crunch and the unravelling of the world financial systems also marked a potential fundamental shift in the balance of international power. Such a shift may constitute one of the most profound, financial, economic, political and ideological crisis facing the West since the 1930s. A meeting of the G20 leaders in London in 2009 delivered more than symbolism. The very fact that a meeting of the top 20 leaders took place is an indicator of a shift in the global balance of economic power from the rich countries to one involving more of the developing world. The April 2009 summit of world leaders agreed a $1.1 trillion package of funding to secure stability, growth and jobs in the light of an economic recession. The G20 solution to tackling the economic crisis included commitments to financial regulation, sanctions against tax havens, increasing resources made available through the International Monetary Fund, com mit ments to global trade, and a degree of protectionism for developing countries. If development is about anything, it may be about giving hope to ordinary people that their children will live in a society that has caught up with the rest of the world and, if sport in development is about anything, then it ought to act as a resource of hope in this process.
