This volume investigates the complex intersection of athletic competition and social structures to determine how sport functions as a mirror and driver of societal change. Richard Giulianotti, a prominent scholar in the sociology of sport, curates a collection of essays from leading international experts. The text utilizes a multidisciplinary framework, drawing on historical, political, and economic data to analyze the institutionalization of sports in modern life. It argues that sport is not merely a leisure activity but a significant site for the negotiation of power, identity, and social inequality.

Experts identify this handbook as a foundational reference text for students and researchers in the field of sports sociology. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the breadth of the global perspectives provided by the contributors.