Changing social conditions in Nordic countries have actualized social entrepreneurship in sport . Where the social welfare system fails, social entrepreneurs may contribute. There is a general belief that sport is good and can contribute to peopleās wellbeing. Through sport, social entrepreneurs may improve society and strengthen groups in need of social improvement. However, there is a general lack both of knowledge of social entrepreneurship related to sport and of policies for social entrepreneurship . In this anthology we have examined the conditions and the concept of social entrepreneurship in sport, and correspondingly formulated theses for an enhanced understanding to stimulate a critical examination of social entrepreneurial ventures in sport.
In Sweden there is a saying that āthe church is in the middle of the villageā. This refers to the profound importance religion used to have in society, both in the ideological sense of believing and because of its role in social organization. One could almost say that the football pitch has now taken its place. In local sports clubs, generations of villagers take joint responsibility for sports activities and pitch maintenance, while the club offers a social network for parties and other activities.
What then characterizes sports activities that both create meaning for the participants and contribute to forming social communities for the individual, the group and the local community as a whole? What are the conditions for sustainable social activity related to sport? The Nordic sports model differs in many respects from how sport is organized in other parts of the world. It is, to a large extent, based on voluntary work , with the vast majority of leaders, trainers and officials being parents working free of charge. At the same time, society heavily supports the sports movement , economically and in other ways. Society (parliament, government), however, expects things in return, such as positive social effects in terms of meaningful leisure time combined with physical activity.
To understand the Nordic sports model , it is important to understand the difference between sport and idrott (idrett in Norwegian, idrƦt in Danish, ĆĆ¾rĆ³tt in Icelandic). There is no translation that corresponds precisely to its meaning. In Swedish the terminology would be āthe Nordic idrotts modelā. Originally (in the Viking Age, ranging from the late eighth to the mid-eleventh centuries), idrott meant competition. It was, however, not solely associated with physically competing (e.g. measuring distance/time/weight); there were also competitions in, for instance, reciting poetry.
The word idrott was then forgotten, to be reintroduced in the late nineteenth century as part of the national romantic era, when the nation, its (male) leaders, history and outdoor nature were celebrated (Lindroth 2012). The meaning of idrott was transformed from referring to competing in general to specifically meaning competing in games, play and sport. For the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, the concept of idrott involves physical activity to strengthen physical and mental health, recreation, competitive performance and aesthetic phenomenology/experience. In the Swedish Sports Confederation (SSC), idrott includes physical activity for exercise, recreation or in formal (sports) competitions. The concept of idrott is thus broader than the international concept of sport (cf. Guttmann 2004).
To reconnect to the Nordic or, more specifically, the Swedish āidrotts modelā, which we translate as āsports model ā, the Swedish government does not fund the movement in order to win medals in international competitions. No government sports elitist goal (referring to good international sports performances) existed until 2008. Before then the state funded the movement solely because it fostered democratic and health-promoting values.
One way of describing the Nordic sports model is by using the dichotomy of fostering democra cy and competition (SOU 2008:59). The former is about social rules, about involving and helping everyone to develop on the basis of individual potential. The latter comprises, for example, learning to win or lose, to practise and to play fair. While fostering competition represents the logic of sport, fostering democracy can be seen as a tool for achieving the good social effects of sport. In a general sense, sport is seen as a āpeopleās movement ā promoting such social effects as public health , democracy , equality and integration by, for example, allowing boys to participate in traditional girlsā sports or admitting disabled persons into sport, as well as children and young people born abroad or living in poor socio-economic conditions (Hedenborg et al. 2013).
One sports leader says:
We take care of young people and turn them into proper individuals. For sure we want to become Swedish champions. But after working with youth for 20 years, when I meet Kalle and Stina, coming from troublesome backgrounds, and here they come, proper looking, parents with steady jobs and good citizens. Thatās the spirit of all leadership. You should educate good citizens, law-abiding ones, standing with both feet on the ground and speaking their mind when things are not fair. (Quote from an unpublished interview transcript.)
Another leader, working with horse-riding for immigrant youths, says:
They are very inquisitive. We discuss basically everything. The horse comes second. One of the guys really wanted to become Swedish. He said: Look! He had pierced himself. But what have you done?āItās nice!āNo, there are those who find it nice, but most people donāt. Then I had to explain why. If two individuals apply for the same job, and one of them is pierced, that one wonāt get the job. He looked at me but said nothing. The next time he came he said: Look, I have removed it. Thank you for telling me. No one else had told him. But I can tell him here. They know that I donāt want to harass them, I just want them to be all right and I think they have got that. (Hedenborg et al. 2013, p. 70)
In these challenging situations, sport is also used as a means for social development. What is meant by sport in these projects might not be regarded as a sport by others. In such cases, sports leaders have to be entrepreneurial in their efforts āto make things workā. They have to fight to legitimize the activities and to get them financed.
This is a story of hard times:
We permanently lack money. We contact the municipality people working with leisure time activities. They could not help us as we work in schools. And the school authorities, they just pay for school personnel. We are today not a sports club, though we once were. So, we canāt get funding for being a sports club either. At that point, I contacted the Swedish National Agency for Education. They said that our work is related to health, so thatās the National Board of Health and Welfare . So, I phoned them, and they said Great! Thatās the way to work! But, what you do is sport, and the sport movement has the Lift for Sport, so try there. Then I wrote to the Prime Minister: Who is responsible for childrenās physical and psychological health? I got no answer. Back again, after being moved around between the different arms of the municipal administration, they say to us that we fall between two stools. But I say no, itās the children that fall between them. (Peterson and Schenker 2015, p. 52)
Entrepreneurship in general is about navigating, about catching opportunities and handling problems in the different sectors of society. Its means and goals are expressed, by and large, in entrepreneurial actions (Shane and Venkataraman 2000; Davidsson and Wiklund 2001; Holt et al. 2007; Light 2008). But there is a general lack both of knowledge of social entrepreneurship related to sport and of policies for social entrepreneurship . This is problematic when it comes to activities that are directed at fostering children and youth.
The authors of this anthology have studied and evaluated different forms of sporting activity. We have seen things that challenge the accepted definition of sport. Among them are activities that engage everyone in the local community, projects directed at unaccompanied refugee children, sports-like activities during school hours and free swimming classes for socio-economically vulne...