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Sport for development and peace (SDP) is a contemporary term for practices that have a long history, particularly in Canada’s provincial and territorial north, and especially with Aboriginal peoples for whom the region is home. Using a postcolonial international relations feminist approach, theories of global governance and private authority, and by exploring recent literature on self-determination in the context of Aboriginal peoples, we investigate 1) the assumptions at work in attempts to “transfer” SDP programming models in the Two-Thirds World to Aboriginal communities across Canada; 2) how the retreat of the welfare state and neo-liberal policies have produced the “need” for SDP in Aboriginal communities; and 3) how efforts toward Aboriginal self-determination can be made through SDP. We argue that, taken together, these concepts build a useful foundation better understanding for the historical and sociopolitical processes involved in deploying SDP interventions in Aboriginal communities.

Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) has transformed from what some termed a “social movement” to an institutionalized sector with numerous organizations and practitioners involved, resulting in trends that point toward SDP becoming a recognized category of work through professional training. The purpose of this paper is to utilize theories of professions and institutional isomorphism to advance the significance and importance of thinking about SDP as a profession. Three emerging trends that point to the professionalization of SDP are reviewed: (a) increasing opportunities to attain SDP certifications and training, (b) the growing number of SDP-specific academic degrees, and (c) the creation of a SDP knowledge base, particularly in relation to monitoring and evaluation. To conclude, theoretical and practical implications of the professionalization of SDP are discussed and a research agenda is outlined for future research on the continued institutionalization, and professionalization, of the SDP sector.

International non-governmental organizations (INGOs) funding sport for development and peace (SDP) programs are drawn to the promise of such initiatives for young women in global South countries such as Nicaragua to promote their sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) and prevent gender-based violence (GBV). While “international” feminist norms in support of “girl power” tend to be advocated by INGOs, gender norms in Nicaragua emphasize "machismo’ that tend to uphold male domination. Based on a case study of international-regional-local NGO relations as they “play out” in Nicaragua, this paper connects international relations studies that explore the conditions through which norm change “happens” with postcolonial feminist participatory action research (PFPAR). To conclude, we discuss how to better understand the tensions of "norms in conflict’ in SDP, with a particular focus on the pressures for local NGOs to accommodate—and connect—their contextual circumstances to the demands of transnational partners and the rising focus of Western donor organizations on “measurable” outcomes.

Safe space—a physical and psychosocial space cultivated through social relations—can be vital for youth programs and community development. This paper analyzes youth participants’ experiences in a Canadian bicycle program. The authors suggest that the program can be seen as a form of “Sport for Development,” and specifically what the authors term “Bicycles for Development”—as the bicycle is considered as a possible catalyst for development. Using interviews and photos, the role of “safe space” in the growing body of Bicycles for Development literature is highlighted, and the authors make a connection between Sport for Development scholarship and literature related to youth cultural activities and spaces. The findings reveal the benefits associated with program engagement and challenges despite program-related benefits.

Over the past two decades, significant policy shifts within Canada have urged corporations from all sectors, including the extractives industry, to fund and support sport for development (SFD) programming in Indigenous communities, often through corporate social responsibility strategies. The idea that sport is an appropriate tool of development for Indigenous communities in Canada and that the extractives industry is a suitable partner to implement development programs highlight profound tensions regarding ongoing histories of resource extraction and settler colonialism. To explore these tensions, in this paper, the authors drew on interviews conducted with extractives industry representatives of four companies that fund and implement such SFD programs. From these interviews, three overarching discourses emerged in relation to the extractives industry’s role in promoting development through sport: SFD is a catalyst to positive relationships between industry and community, SFD is a contributor to “social good” in Indigenous communities, and extractives industry funding of SFD is “socially responsible.”

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated gender-based violence (GBV) rates in Canada, especially affecting young women and gender-diverse youth. Trauma- and violence-informed physical activity and sport for development (SFD) are recognized strategies for supporting survivors of violence, preventing GBV, and challenging gender norms. This paper explores the potential of trauma- and violence-informed approaches with a Canadian SFD organization, focusing on programs aimed to promote gender diversity and address GBV. Grounded in intersectional feminism and queer theory, findings from interviews with SFD staff and participants (n = 15) revealed challenges in maintaining a trauma- and violence-informed approach in a heteronormative sporting space. In conclusion, further research on trauma-informed SFD is crucial due to increasing GBV rates in sport.

Much of the research on Indigenous youth’s sport has focused on the barriers that they experience in accessing opportunities for participation. What remains underexplored is the idea that nonparticipation might actually reflect Indigenous youth’s deliberate refusal of Euro-Canadian sport. In making this argument, first, we connect Indigenous theories of refusal to Indigenous youth sport participation in Canada. Second, we examine the researcher’s role in reproducing colonialism in sport studies. Third, we apply examples of Indigenous refusal of sport. We conclude by discerning the central tensions of the topic and areas for future study. This paper is a call for researchers to study refusal, not only as an act by Indigenous youth, but also as a method that researchers can use in refusing to reproduce colonial representations of Indigenous youth.