Stuck between medals and participation: an institutional theory perspective on why sport federations struggle to reach Sport-for-All goals

Background: Sport-for-All emphasises that every individual has the right to participate in sport. Despite all efforts to deliver Sport-for-All during the past decades, studies indicate that sport participation rates stagnated, whereas social inequalities in sport continue to exist. Our study specifically explores how the dual mission of sport federations, i.e. providing Sport-for-All and high performance sport, affects their Sport-for-All delivery. By applying institutional theory this study sheds light on how the underlying institutional logic of Flemish sport federations affects their Sport-for-All contributions. Method: A cross-sectional field study of the sport federations was applied in the study. In particular, the sport federations selected for our study are the 47 Flemish sport federations. Methodologically, qualitative research methods (i.e., document analysis) as quantitative research methods (i.e., a new questionnaire was developed based on institutional theory) were applied in the study. Results: Results indicate that sport federations are important partners in support of Sport-for-All projects (n=218), but that there is a discrepancy between the projects of the high performance-oriented and the Sport-for-All-oriented federations. Specifically, the high performance-oriented federations aim on youth participants, whereas Sport-for-all-oriented aim to reach disadvantaged groups. Furthermore, the results indicate that high performance-oriented federations endure more institutional pressure than Sport-for-All-oriented federations. Conclusion: This study provides insights in the amount of Sport-for-All projects the Flemish sport federations support and organize. Moreover, the conducted mapping of projects offers findings on which specific target groups the projects aim to reach. Our study indicates that the competitive federations especially aim on target groups like youth and open for all. Remarkable is that their Sport-for-All projects lack a focus on disadvantaged groups.