Matthew Nicholson is Associate Professor of Sport Management in the Centre for Sport and Social Impact at La Trobe University, Australia. His research interests focus on sport policy and development, the contribution of sport to social capital and the relationship between sport and the media. His most recent books include Sport and Policy: Issues and Analysis (2010), Sport Management: Principles and Applications (2009), Sport and Social Capital (2008), A National Game (2008) and Sport and the Media: Managing the Nexus (2007).

Russell Hoye is Professor of Sport Management and Director of the Centre for Sport and Social Impact at La Trobe University, Australia. His main research areas focus on the governance of sports organizations, the impacts of public policy on sport and the engagement of volunteers in sport. His most recent books include Sport and Policy: Issues and Analysis (2010), Sport Management: Principles and Applications (2009), Sport and Social Capital (2008) and Sport Governance (2007).

Barrie Houlihan is Professor of Sport Policy in the Institute of Sport and Leisure Policy in the School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences at Loughborough University, UK. He has written widely on many aspects of sport policy including doping, sport development, theorizing the sport policy process and sport and young people. His most recent books include Sport and Policy: Issues and Analysis (2010), Comparative Elite Sport Development: Systems, Structures and Public Policy (2008) and Sport Policy: A Comparative Analysis of Stability and Change (2007).

1. Introduction 2. England 3. The Netherlands 4. Germany 5. Norway 6. Hungary 7. Bulgaria 8. Finland 9. South Africa 10. India 11. China 12. Singapore 1 3. Japan 14. Australia 1 5. New Zealand 16. United States of America 17. Canada 18. Conclusion

Although there is growing interest from governments in participation levels in sport, the extent to which governments actively promote 'sport for all' and their motives for doing so vary greatly. Participation in Sport is the first book to examine the sport participation policies of national governments across the world and to offer a comparative analysis of the motives for, and successes and failures of those policies.