In Quest of Safeguarding Children’s Welfare in and through Sport

Nationwide or global sporting developments can be multifaceted and relatively hyperrealistic/simulative with regard to remaining controversies or inequalities such as changing ways or levels of access to or kaleidoscopic backstories in relation to the well-arranged sporting practices. Accordingly, the value of sporting configurations to contribute to the overall wellbeing or development of a person and society have been questioned by critical researchers exploring the (levels/ways of) unconformities between the developmental promises/missions of sports (configurations) and how they have been performed. This paper, derived from my ethnographic study of “safeguarding children’s welfare in sport in Turkey”, focuses on the critical results that reflect on such as the meanings of the current achievements, ongoing practices and challenges in and beyond sport fields. Moreover, the complexity of the individual and collective agency and maintaining the developmental processes regarding children’s welfare in sport were addressed in the context of dynamic social structures such as transnational socio-cultural-political constraints (e.g. ableism, hegemonic masculinity, imbalances of power or development) and opportunities (e.g. geographical collaborations, inclusive traditions) which have been historically present in related interactions or institutions. In quest of safeguarding children’s welfare in and through sport, this paper offers critical account and specific recommendations for Turkish context (with the acknowledgement of the importance of diverse stakeholders’ role) to enhance the related body of knowledge and to further stimulate the sound research, policy and practice.