Fragmented, complex and cumbersome: a study of disability sport policy and provision in Europe

Abstract

This article examines the provision of disability sport in 19 European countries, an area that has been a largely neglected area of research in sport policy and management. The findings indicate that the organization and structure of disability sport is fragmented, complex and cumbersome and exists within a policy climate characterized by a largely uncoordinated and differential commitment to disability sport. In the majority of countries, mainstreaming was an overwhelmingly dominant (though largely rhetorical) policy objective that underpinned the varied pattern of disability sport provision, but limited progress has been made towards the achievement of this objective. This was related to the reluctance of various mainstream sports organizations to relinquish their existing roles and accept new responsibilities for disability sport, a lack of sustained political will within and outside the organizations, and a general lack of agreed vision on what constitutes mainstreaming and how to go about achieving it. Using a policy network model to analyse data, it seems clear that disability sport policy across Europe resembles something of an issue network rather than a coherent policy community.