The European Model of Sport Myth or Reality?

1. Introduction: The European Model of Sport, a Political Concept That Was Never Meant to Be

Borja García and Vanja Smokvina 

Part I: A Multidisciplinary Analysis of the European Model of Sport 

2. How the Concept of the “European Model of Sport” Was Coined

Jaime Andreu Romeo 

3. A Legal Assessment of the Status of the European Model of Sport Following the Judgements of the Court of Justice on 21 December 2023

Richard Parrish 

4. Socio-Cultural Values in European Sport: A Selective Survey of Strategy and Policy Papers in EU Member States

Henk Erik Meier and Merle Wiehl 

5. Patterns of Financing Sports in Europe

Holger Preuß and Antonia Hannawacker 

6. Sports Cultures in the European Union: An Analysis of Eurobarometer Sport and Physical Activity 2022 Data

Ramón Llopis-Goig 

7. Redistribution and Solidarity in the European Model of Sport

Daniel Plumley and Rob Wilson 

Part II: Models of Sport in Europe 

8. The Scandinavian Sport Model

Jörg Krieger and Svein Erik Nordhagen 

9. The Western and Central European Model of Sport Under Pressure: Between Societal Transformation and the Obstinacy of the Neo-Corporatist Arrangement in Germany

Mara Verena Konjer and Henk Erik Meier 

10. Sport Governance in South-East Europe: From Socialist Self-Management to Post-Transition Politicization

Marko Begović 

11. The UK Model of Sport: Early Pioneer and Contemporary Revisionist

Spencer Harris and Mathew Dowling 

Part III: Models of Sport Around the World 

12. The American and Canadian Sport Models: Not One and the Same

Milena M. Parent and David Patterson 

13. The Chinese Model of Sport: Empowered and Restrained in the New Era

Shushu Chen, Xiaoyan Xing and Qi Wang 

14. Model of Sport in the Arab World: A European Approach?

Sarah Muhanna Al-Naimi and Mahfoud Amara 

15. Exploring Colombia’s National Sports System through the European Model of Sport: Decentralization, Solidarity, and Sport

Mauricio Hernández Londoño and Néstor Ordóñez Saavedra 

16. The African Sport Model: Between Pan-Africanism and European/Olympic Hegemony

Pascal Camara, Louis Moustakas and Maximilian Seltmann 

17. Conclusion: The European Model of Sport, a Mythical Reality

Borja García and Vanja Smokvina

Biography

Borja García is Reader in sport policy and governance in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University, UK. He is also a founding member of the Association for the Study of Sport and the European Union (www.sportandeu.com). He has published extensively in top journals such as the Journal of European Public Policy, the Journal of Common Market Studies and European Sport Management Quarterly. 

Vanja Smokvina is Associate Professor of sports law, labour and social security law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Rijeka, Croatia. He is the Head of the Institute of Sports Law, Sports Policies and Sports Diplomacy and holder of the Jean Monnet Chair in EU Sports Law, Policy & Diplomacy (2022–2025). Vanja is also an Arbitrator of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, and member of the Scientific Committee of the UEFA Football Law Programme.