ABSTRACT
Sport has long played an important role in services for young people in the global North. This chapter traces the modern origins of current programs and provides an overview of how sport is now deployed to achieve social policy objectives in more economically developed countries. The chapter argues that ideas of social development and social control are intertwined in this provision. It reviews some of the key claims made about the benefits of sports-based programs for young people and the societies in which they live, explores the theoretical frameworks that have been used to analyse these activities, and concludes by reflecting on possible future directions for scholarship in this field.
