ABSTRACT
The chapter introduces the history and the current state of sport and its social role in the Czech Republic. The goal of the chapter is twofold: First, the historical part focuses on depicting the cultural and political position of sporting activities and new organisations within the process of the establishment of Czech civil society under the surveillance of Austro-Hungarian authorities throughout the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Then, mass sporting activities as a tool for support of the Communist regime are presented. Second, the last three decades of the evolution of sport-for-development initiatives are introduced together with critical appraisal of several specific projects. Theoretically, the chapter builds on Coalter’s sport plus and plus sport typology and Astle’s continuum of (a) sport and development for parallel coexistence of sports and society, (b) sport for development for sports as an accelerator of international recognition of Czech lands or sharing different experiences among diverse cultures and (c) development through sport for the deliberate use of sport for the legitimation of political regimes or for motivating people through the popularity of sport.
