Book chapter
Idealitet i idrottsrörelsen då och nu
2025Vamstad, J., von Essen, J., Henrekson, E., & Lundberg, E.I Norberg, J., Dartsch Nilsson, C., Wahlgren, L. & Pihlblad, J. (red.), Jag ställer upp! Om framtiden för ett ideellt idrottsengagemang under press. Centrum för idrottsforskning 2025:3
What is this study about?
The study examines how voluntary work within the Swedish sports movement has developed over time. Drawing on recurring population surveys, it analyses the extent of the engagement, who does voluntary work in sport, and how the conditions for this work have changed. The study places today's discussion about difficulties recruiting and retaining volunteers in a longer historical perspective.
What did we find?
Voluntary work continues to hold a very strong position in Swedish sport, but behind the overall continuity lie important changes. Engagement is unevenly distributed between different groups, and the sports movement is affected by, among other things, professionalization, demographic change and changed notions of civic responsibility. The study thus shows that the challenge for sport cannot simply be described as people having stopped engaging, but rather concerns who engages, how the engagement is organized and what expectations are placed on volunteers.
Why does it matter?
Swedish sport relies to a large extent on people voluntarily taking on roles as leaders, coaches and club officials. Changed conditions for voluntary work therefore affect not only the activities of sports clubs, but also their ability to offer activities, create community and be accessible to different groups. The study shows why the future challenge of the sports movement concerns both recruiting volunteers and creating sustainable and inclusive forms of engagement.
Citation
Vamstad, J., von Essen, J., Henrekson, E., & Lundberg, E. (2025) Idealitet i idrottsrörelsen då och nu. I Norberg, J., Dartsch Nilsson, C., Wahlgren, L. & Pihlblad, J. (red.), Jag ställer upp! Om framtiden för ett ideellt idrottsengagemang under press. Centrum för idrottsforskning 2025:3 33–57
Research area
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