Cogent Social Sciences: Sport and Discrimination Journal

Call for Abstracts

Special Collection on Sport and Discrimination in Times of Change

About the Special Collection

Sport is a powerful lens through which the broader currents of social change and inequality become visible. Around the world, sport has increasingly become a contested space where issues such as racism, nationalism, gender inequality, migration, ableism, and activism play out in stark and often contradictory ways. At the same time, sport has the potential to be a space for inclusion, transformation, and justice.

This Special Collection explores the evolving intersections of sport and discrimination amid political, social, and cultural transformation. It builds on the themes of the 8^th International Sport and Discrimination Conference, held at the German Sport University Cologne in June 2025, and invites scholarly engagement with the dynamics of change in, through, and around sport.

We are particularly interested in how social change affects the structures, practices, and cultures of sport—and conversely, how sport contributes to or resists social transformation. This includes change within sport (e.g., policy shifts, organisational reforms, or evolving norms), change through sport (e.g., activist interventions, grassroots movements), and change outside sport (e.g., broader societal shifts) that impacts the sporting realm. Discrimination, marginalisation, and exclusion remain persistent challenges, but they are also being confronted in new and creative ways that merit rigorous scholarly attention.

Aim of the Special Collection

The aim of this Special Collection is to foster interdisciplinary dialogue on the complex and often paradoxical roles sport plays in times of change. We seek contributions that investigate how sport reflects, reinforces, or resists discrimination across a wide range of contexts, cultures, and communities.

This collection encourages submissions that cross disciplinary boundaries, engage with multiple theoretical and methodological approaches, and amplify perspectives that are often underrepresented in mainstream academic debates. By bringing together diverse voices and fields, we aim to create a collective conversation on how sport and discrimination are shaped by—and help shape—ongoing transformations in society.

Topics for this Special Collection may include (but are not limited to):

• Empirical studies on the forms and impacts of discrimination in sport
• Intersectional analyses of exclusion and access in sport settings
• Experiences of marginalised individuals and communities in sport
• Sport as a site of political and social resistance or activism
• Theoretical and conceptual contributions to understanding discrimination and transformation in sport
• Critical reflections on sport governance, institutions, and reform
• Comparative or global perspectives on discrimination and social change in sport
• Policy-oriented research addressing anti-discrimination practices in sport
• The role of sport during moments of social or political upheaval

Interdisciplinary and Global Perspectives

We strongly encourage interdisciplinary approaches—either within individual contributions or across the Special Collection as a whole. Contributions from scholars in sociology, media studies, cultural studies, sports journalism, political science, anthropology, history, education, philosophy, law, or related fields are welcome. We also particularly encourage submissions from researchers working in underrepresented regions or contexts, and those incorporating critical, feminist, decolonial, or anti-racist frameworks.

Paper Proposal Guidelines: Interested in contributing a paper to the special collection?

Please submit a file (PDF preferred) with (1) author name(s), institutional affiliation(s), and contact information, (2) short biography of each author (100 words), and (3) an overview of your proposed chapter (approx. 250 words) to sportdisc@leedsbeckett.ac.uk by September 12, 2025. Full chapter manuscripts are due March 27, 2026. The Cogent Social Sciences: Sport and Discrimination Journal does not have a strict word limit for papers but we would expect a word count of 6,000-10,000 inclusive of the reference list.

Anticipated Publication Timeline

3 July              call for abstracts 

12 September deadline for submissions 

19 September  authors notified of decision

30 January       first draft deadline

13 February     authors receive feedback 

27 March         final draft deadline 

Editorial Team

Marloes Ekkleboom, Yann Descamps, Daniel Kilvington, John Price