Critical factors affecting the sustainability of international sport development event legacy programmes

Abstract

As major sport events have grown in popularity, profile, and scale, event legacy has attracted significant academic attention. This literature has largely considered legacy from a host city or host nation perspective. However, these narrow spatial parameters provide an increasingly unsuitable framework for legacy investigation. Policy and practice are evolving, with a growing emphasis on broader geographic impact. Reflecting this shift, international sport development programmes are now central to the legacy plans for major sport events hosted in the United Kingdom (UK). With the logic of sustainable development gaining traction among sport development professionals, there is a clear, logical, and timely opportunity to examine how these international legacy interventions can be sustained. On this basis, the study sought to identify critical factors that affect the sustainability of international sport development legacy programmes. Employing typical, multiple case study design, three international sport development programmes were investigated. All three cases were associated with UK-hosted major sport events. 26 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Participants were selected from National Sports Federations (UK and overseas), International Sports Federations, and related organisations. Participants occupied senior managerial and executive positions, possessing extensive experience of sport management or sport development, and specific knowledge of at least one case. Data was analysed using a process of Thematic Analysis. Findings revealed five principal factors that influenced international sport development programme sustainability: (i), relationships between practitioner and participant, (ii), levels of strategy and coherence demonstrated by stakeholder organisations, (iii), readiness of practitioners to conduct international sport development, (iv), culture and effectiveness within delivery organisations, and (v), global sports governance structures. The study builds upon and extends international development and sport management literature in several ways. Exploration of the nexus of legacy, sport development, and sustainability in the international context, investigation of the practitioner perspective, and examination of the process of creating sustainable legacy all represent a novel contribution. This enhances academic understanding of international sport development and provides a strong platform to inform and advance professional practice in the major event and sport development sectors.

Date of Award	25 Jun 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Haydn Morgan (Supervisor), Andrew Manley (Supervisor) & Sam Carr (Supervisor)