Comparative Elite Sport Development

"This collection is a rarity: the editors provide a clear conceptual framework to assist authors, the authors use the framework to inform their analyses of athlete development in each of nine nation-states, and the editors use the chapters to write a concluding chapter that identifies the complex social, economic, political, and historical factors that shape processes of creating elite athletes in today's societies. As a result, this collection comes together in a way that will keep readers engaged and leave them better informed about sports in society."

Jay Coakley, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA

"In the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with many predicting that China is about to take the lead in the 'global sporting arms race', this is a very timely book.
Houlihan and Green have taken the cross-cultural study of high performance sport development systems to a new level. Using sophisticated analytical tools for the comparison of national sport policies this book takes important steps towards understanding how and why countries compete in the 'global sporting arms race'. These are important questions when governments compete to spend many millions to host sporting mega events and develop competitive athletes, often at the expense of urgent social needs in their countries."

Professor Peter Donnelly, Director, Centre for Sport Policy Studies, University of Toronto