Keywords

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

23.1 Introduction

The preceding 20 chapters have presented national perspectives on sport clubs based on quantitative and descriptive information on the origin of sport clubs, the position of sport clubs within policy and society, and characteristics of sport clubs. In this chapter we offer a cross-national comparison focusing on more general findings. To optimise the comparative approach we developed a framework for international comparison that served as a guideline for the authors for their country chapters (see Chap. 1). This, however, does not mean that we can directly compare the quantitative data that is provided in the country chapters, as the availability of data differs between the countries and there is by no means a comparable data set between the countries. The framework for comparison does enable us to focus on differences between groups, and on patterns and trends that can be observed throughout Europe or in specific regions or countries. In this chapter we focus on these similarities and differences in patterns and trends between countries.

In the following we offer a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the characteristics of sport clubs and their embedding in society and in national sport systems in various European countries. For this analysis we use the multilevel model that was outlined in the theoretical chapter (Chap. 2), including a macro perspective and a meso perspective. From a macro perspective we pay attention to the origin and development of sport clubs and the way sport clubs are embedded in the national sport system. Furthermore, we focus on the position of sport clubs within society and within policy, including the position of sport clubs within sport policy and within the more general social welfare policies. From a meso perspective we illustrate differences and similarities in the characteristics of sport clubs and identify the main bottlenecks and challenges of sport clubs in the context of the current developments in modern sports and society.

The central question of this chapter can be formulated as follows:

What are the similarities and differences in the 20 contributions with regard to the development of sport clubs within the national sport structure, their role in policy and society and their characteristics and bottlenecks and challenges?

Before we address this question we provide a general overview of sport club participation in the countries in this book based on Eurobarometer data and national data of Switzerland and Norway, as these countries are not part of the European Union. This provides a further context to the interpretation of the differences that are found between the countries and adds to the comparative perspective that forms the core of this chapter.

23.2 Comparative Data from Eurobarometer

The Eurobarometer provides information on sport club participation in all EU-member states. Data from Switzerland and Norway are available from national studies. Figure 23.1 shows that the Netherlands have the highest sport club membership, followed by Switzerland and the Western and Northern European countries; Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Belgium. In comparison to other Northern European countries the sport clubs participation in Norway is quite low.Footnote 1 Three of the participating Eastern European countries have about the same participation as the EU mean. Hungary and Poland deviate from that picture. Looking at the Mediterranean countries it is noticeable that in France the participation is somewhat above the EU average, while Spain, Italy and Greece are at the bottom of the list.

Fig. 23.1
figure 1

Sport club participation (people 15 years and older). Special Eurobarometer 412 “Sport and physical activity” (European Commission 2014); Norway (see Chap. 17) and Switzerland, people 15–74 years old (Lamprecht et al. 2014)

Full size image

In the Eurobarometer people were asked whether local sport clubs and other local providers offer many opportunities to be physically active (statement). Again Western and Northern European countries form the top of the ranking. Citizens from these countries are the most satisfied with the opportunities that sport clubs and other local providers offer, especially in Denmark and the Netherlands. And again Eastern European countries do not deviate from the average of the EU member states, with the exception of Poland and Hungary. When comparing the Mediterranean countries the opportunities are quite different. France is in the top of the ranking, Spain is somewhere in the middle and Italy and Greece are at the bottom (Fig. 23.2 ).

Fig. 23.2
figure 2

The extent to which citizens (people 15 years and older) agreed that local sport clubs and other local providers offer many opportunities to be physically active. Special Eurobarometer 412 “Sport and physical activity” (European Commission 2014)

Full size image

In the Eurobarometer citizens were asked if they were engaged in voluntary work that supports sporting events. Figure 23.3 clearly shows that volunteering in sport is high in the Northern European countries, especially in Norway and Sweden, and in Switzerland. Also in the Netherlands there are relatively many volunteers. The Eastern European countries Estonia, Slovenia and Czech Republic are a bit above the EU average and Hungary is about average. It is remarkable that in the four Mediterranean countries participating in this book volunteerism in sport is the lowest.

Fig. 23.3
figure 3

Participating in voluntary work that support sporting activities (people 15 years and older). Special Eurobarometer 412 “Sport and physical activity” (European Commission 2014); Norway (see Chap. 17) and Switzerland, people 15–74 years old (Lamprecht et al. 2014)

Full size image

The Eurobarometer provides great insights in sport involvement in general and more specific in the participation in sport and the report reveals many differences between member states. There are clear differences between the countries with regard to membership and volunteering in sport clubs as well as the relevance of sport clubs as local sport providers. In general, the Northern European countries rank on top. The countries in Western and Central Europe are a little behind, whereas the relevance of sport clubs in South and Eastern Europe is considerably lower.

23.3 Historical Origin of Sport and Their Current Position in National Sport Structures

Though the countries have different social, cultural and political backgrounds, they share to a great extent the same roots with regard to sport and sport clubs. In the presented countries the first sport clubs offered sports that had a link with the military, like fencing, shooting, equestrian sports, swimming, running and sailing. Furthermore the gymnastic movement from Sweden or the German Turnen influenced the development of sport clubs within the countries. In the Northern and Western European countries it mainly concerned voluntary sport clubs, while in parts of Eastern Europe and Southern Europe private clubs also played an important role (see for instance the chapters of Italy, Hungary and Poland). The emphasis of the gymnastic movement, that was present throughout Europe, was mainly on health, strengthening the body and building character.

Another wave of sports emerged in England. There the industrial revolution lead to urbanisation and emancipation, but it was the reduction of the working hours in the second half of the nineteenth century that made it possible for the mass to participate in sport or be a spectator. Also common rules in sports were established, which made it possible to compete between schools, universities and so on. People who visited England, e.g. foreign students, became acquainted with typical Anglo-Saxon sports like football, rugby and tennis with its focus on performance and competition and they introduced these sports in their home countries. Starting in the UK modern sports spread out throughout Europe, showing up first in countries with a closer relation to UK and later in the Eastern European countries. These sports were becoming for instance immense popular in countries like France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the Czech Republic.

The modern sport with its competition element and elite sports found its way to other countries in a different manner. In the Eastern European countries there is a noticeable higher involvement of the government and allegedly a stronger focus on performance and elite sports given the sport schools that are organised by the state and a less presence of the mostly grassroots sport oriented democratic sport clubs in the beginning stages of the development of sport clubs. Furthermore, in Hungary and Poland sport was also connected with the school system, as was partly the case in the UK. This positions Hungary and Poland as school sporting countries, more than as sport club countries (see also Van Tuyckom 2011). Other European countries incorporated gymnastic in the school system and sport clubs were the main venue for the modern sports.

Sport clubs really started to develop in the beginning of the twentieth century in all parts of Europe. Countries with a full political support for the development of the voluntary sector of sport and a vivid civil society grew more rapidly (e.g. Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark). The increase in the popularity of sport and the expansion of sport clubs made it necessary to organise sport in a more formal way. In most countries sport federations are responsible for organising local, regional and national competitions, the training of talents and the representation of their sport in other national forums. In addition every country has a national Olympic committee in which the interests of all sports are represented. The configuration of sport federation differs between the European countries as a result of differences in ideological, political and religious background. In Spain the Franco dictatorship has had its influence on the development of sport clubs and the limited willingness to participate in volunteer-based organisations. Furthermore, in Belgium there are two sport federations per sport, reflecting the national political situation, with a Flemish and a Walloon part. On the other hand, the national Olympic committee is not divided along those lines and it holds a strong position in Belgium. Austria even has three umbrella sport organisation of which two have a specific political alignment (SPORTUNION and ASKÖ) and the third (ASVÖ) is independent and unifies the sport clubs that do not feel associated with the other two umbrella organisations. Also in Denmark there are three national umbrella organisations active, namely, DIF and DGI, supplemented by the more specialised DFIF. This division is in Denmark not political but ideological. DIF represents modern sports with competitions and national championships. DGI represents the sports and exercise movement, while DFIF mainly focuses on company sports. In Italy two subsystems exist in juxtaposition, on the one hand CONI and sport federations and on the other hand the regions and sport promotion bodies.

Furthermore, the chapters illustrate to some extent that the world war period affected the development of sport clubs and their position within policy. This is for instance noticeable in Italy with regard to the collapse of the Fascist Regime. In Eastern Europe sport clubs experienced a central controlled state after World War II. In the communist era daily life, including sports, was controlled by the central government. Sport became entirely funded by the state. Though financial thresholds for sport participation were non-existent, mass sport found itself in a weak position because the state favoured elite sport, because the latter could be used to strengthen the state’s international reputation. After the fall of the iron curtain the Eastern European countries changed for the better and a democratic organisation of sport is developing.

The different historical roots of sport within the countries and the political anchor points in these countries in the last century result in different configurations of the current sport system. Camy et al. (2004) refer to four basic configurations of sport systems in Europe: (1) bureaucratic configuration, (2) missionary configuration, (3) entrepreneurial configuration, and (4) social configuration. Table 23.1 presents the basic characteristics of these systems.

Table 23.1 Configuration of sport systems according to Camy et al. (2004)
Full size table

Camy et al. (2004) described for 16 out of the 25 EU member states the configuration of sport systems as bureaucratic and six as missionary. In the UK and Ireland an entrepreneurial system was in place and only in the Netherlands the system was seen as social. Camy et al. emphasise that the typology is a tool in comparing different sport systems and that we should not lose sight of the dynamics that can be seen in the field of sports. The observed developments are not univocal, although Camy et al. perceive a general strengthening of ‘entrepreneurial’ and ‘social’ positions in many countries.

On the basis of the country chapters it is hard to make clear statements whether this grouping is still valid, because not all grouping criteria that Camy et al. have used were included in the analyses of the country chapters. Still, general tendencies can be found.

In the classification by Camy et al. the bureaucratic system is dominant. Today in many countries the state still plays a key role in sports, but it is not as dominant as it used to be. For instance, in countries like the Czech Republic and Estonia, a decentralisation can be seen as the state delegates its roles in the domain of sport to local authorities.

To a certain extent a shift is observed from bureaucratic and missionary towards a entrepreneurial and a social system. In Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Sweden the sport clubs still hold a very strong position. CONI in Italy is an example of how sport can be independent from state interference. However, in the last decades mainly due to the emergence of commercial sport providers, sport clubs lost their hegemony, though in most cases sport clubs still have a leading role in the sport landscape.

In 2004 the UK was positioned as the only country with an entrepreneurial system. Even now England and Northern Ireland are a bit different from the other participating countries in the way the sport system is organised. The same holds true for the Netherlands that was positioned as having a social sport system. Sport clubs in the Netherlands are still very autonomous. Furthermore, central and local governments try to reach their sport for all policy more and more through sport clubs, using subsidies as a tool to involve sport clubs in reaching people that are underrepresented in the clubs. In addition commercial sport providers have a significant portion of the market. Still, as with almost all policy issues in the Netherlands all parties involved are open for collaboration. As a result of the economic recession the system is even more ‘social’ than before, though not all clubs are ready to embrace the new challenges and as a result frictions between clubs and local government may arise. The rise of the commercial sport providers and public sport providers, and decentralisation can also be seen in other European countries. Gradually they show more and more characteristics of a ‘social’ sport system as mentioned before.

In general, we can conclude that the current position of sport clubs in the sport system in the different countries is to a large extent the result of historical milestones in these countries, such as the World War and political shifts. All in all sport clubs are increasingly positioned within a sport market and are more and more intertwined with local sport policy. During the years the position of sport clubs within the sport system has evolved and in most cases was strengthened. Sport clubs are with no doubt the core of the sport system in Europe. In the following paragraph we illustrate the importance of sport clubs within the sport system by focusing on the role of sport clubs in policy and society.

23.4 Role of Sport Clubs in Policy and Society

The social and political significance of sport has grown considerably over the past decades. This is amongst others illustrated by the acceptance of the European Sport for All Charter (Council of Europe 1975) and by the White Paper on Sport (European Commission 2007), in which the European Commission addressed for the first time sport-related issues in a comprehensive manner. The White Paper on Sport addressed three core fields of sport: (1) the societal role of sport, (2) the economic aspect of sports, and (3) the organisation of sport. Especially the social role of sport and the organisation of sport is relevant with regard to the position of sport clubs in policy and society. Active sport participation, among which participation within a sport club context, is considered beneficial from a social and health perspective. It is for these social, health, educational and cultural functions of sport that central and local government invest in sport, and more particularly support sport clubs.

In all European countries the sport clubs can count on support of the government. This support is mainly related to the facilitating role of the local government. Municipalities build and maintain sport facilities for grassroots sport and offer them free of charge, or with reduced fees to sport clubs. This holds true for all countries presented in this book and is in line with the Sport for All Charter which stresses the task of the government to facilitate sport activities. It is the ideology of sport for all that is used to position sport clubs within policy and to issue programmes to stimulate sport club participation. In the countries where sport clubs are more present and a higher share of the population participates in sport clubs, it seems that sport clubs also hold a stronger position within policy. In countries such as Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, France, Northern Ireland, England, Sweden and Belgium there is a broad agreement on the social significance of sport clubs and their ability to contribute to policy objectives with regard to for instance social inclusion, health and safety. Sport clubs are positioned as the cornerstones of the sports movement and very important at a local level. It is especially in these countries that the citizens are satisfied with the opportunities to be physical active provided by the local sport clubs and other local providers (see Fig. 23.2 ). The large representation of sport clubs in these countries, and their local significance, offers policy makers the opportunity to position sport clubs more centrally in their policy. An example is the Sport Matters programme in Northern Ireland that recognises the important role of sport clubs in achieving governmental objectives for sport participation and its associated health benefits and other social benefits. While in countries such as Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Greece, the focus has been or still is mostly on elite sport and less on the social benefits of sport for all and the societal values of sport clubs. Most likely related to this a lower representation of sport clubs and lower sport club participation and lower sport participation in general are noticed in these countries. Nevertheless, an increase in the importance of sport for all and sport clubs is also visible in these countries. In a way Slovenia is ahead of these countries and combines elite sport, as an important element for national identity, with the educational value and health benefits of sport for all, and consequently puts sport clubs central in policy.

23.5 Characteristics of Sport Clubs

The 20 country chapters provide an overview of the nationally available information on sport clubs in the respective countries. A first look at these chapters learns that there is a clear difference in the availability of data on characteristics of sport clubs. The Eastern European countries in general lack information on most of the characteristics of sport clubs, while Western European and the Northern European countries have in most cases national monitoring systems for sport clubs providing ample information on the characteristics of sport clubs. This coincides with the policy attention for sport clubs in these countries, and with this most likely a higher interest in information on the development of sport clubs and their strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities.

In the following sections we give a comparative overview on important structural characteristics of sport clubs that were part of the multilevel framework (Chap. 2).

23.5.1 Size

According to the concept of club goods, size is a relevant factor for understanding sport clubs. The average size of sport clubs differs between the countries. In general it holds true that larger clubs tend to organise both competitive and recreational sport, whereas smaller clubs usually focus on the latter. The majority of the clubs are organised as single sport clubs. This is especially the case in Belgium (85 %), Sweden (85 %) the Netherlands (81 %) and Spain (70 %). In Finland, Germany and Austria, a more substantial group are multiple sport clubs with different sports. On average multisport clubs have more members than single sport clubs.

23.5.2 Members’ Age and Gender

In regard to sport club members and demographic factors, there are differences between age groups and gender. Sport clubs appeal more to youth—especially in the preliminary school age groups—than to elderly though there are differences between sports and disparities are diminishing. Furthermore, sport club membership is more common for male than female and again there are differences between sports. Some are dominated by males (martial arts, football) and others by females (equestrian sports). Surveys also show that the educational level has an influence on sport club participation. This pattern of overrepresentation of higher educated holds true for all of the countries where data was presented of.

23.5.3 Sport Activities

According to the changing role of sport clubs in policy, especially in the Western European and Northern European countries, sport clubs have been expanding their activities. Traditionally sport clubs organise training sessions and opportunities to participate in competitions and tournaments. This is still mainly the case in some countries such as Poland, Greece and Hungary. In most other countries the majority of the clubs also organise—in the context of the sport for all agenda—non-competitive sport activities as well as non-sport activities to enhance social cohesion among their members or to raise funds. Such activities include youth camps, celebrations, thematic dinners, bingo nights, carnival parties and New Year’s receptions. Furthermore, sport clubs participate in local events with a focus other than sport. In most cases the activities are for members only, but there are also various activities that are also open to non-members (family-tournaments) or in some cases are especially targeted at them (introduction days, activities for the elderly or disabled people, clinics at schools). In addition, gatherings in the sport canteen after trainings and matches—the Austrians call it Anschlussgeselligkeit—are very popular, illustrating the social value of sport clubs.

23.5.4 Volunteering and Paid Staff

To organise the sport activities and other activities, sport clubs mainly call upon their volunteers. Volunteering of the members is a basic characteristic of sport clubs all over Europe. However, in the context of professionalisation of modern sports an increase of paid staff is visible in certain countries (e.g. Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Finland). In Finland there was a successful experiment in which the government supported clubs for hiring paid staff. In Poland a contradictory development of increasing voluntary work is visible, and can be explained by the currently low threshold of voluntary work, compared to the other countries. The paid staff appeared to be mainly appointed as coach or instructor.

In the countries included in this book most sport clubs thrive almost exclusively on volunteers for positions as board member, coach, referee/jury member or committee member, volunteer at sport events, or for canteen or maintenance duties. Roughly nine out of ten staff members are volunteers. The number of volunteers per club member varies between different kinds of sports. Team sports need relatively more volunteers, whereas recreational sport activities have a lower demand. In Hungary and Poland it is more common to have paid staff, due to limited voluntary work and part-time contracts for coaches.

In some countries volunteers qualify for remuneration, sometimes with a legal maximum (the Netherlands €1,500 per year). In Italy someone who earns up to €7,500 annually is still considered a volunteer.

There is a big variety between countries as well as between clubs in the attitude of sport clubs with regard to facilitating training and education for volunteers. For some clubs investment in volunteers is standard practice whereas others do not invest in this. Though most clubs have enough volunteers, recruiting and retaining volunteers is one of the main challenges they face (see bottlenecks of sport clubs below).

23.5.5 Finances

Since sport clubs are traditionally non-profit organisations in which likeminded people organise activities for their own and common benefit, the revenues and costs at least have to be balanced. For most clubs the membership fees are the most important revenue. In addition, there are subsidies from local governments, club activities for fund raising and sponsoring/advertising, which provide revenues for sport clubs. In some countries lottery money (Sweden, Austria) and paid services can also be substantial.

Other revenues are responsible for only a small part of the total income. Sport clubs that have their own facility usually also have a canteen and this is a great advantage in comparison to clubs that do not have such a facility available, not only for generating important revenues, but also as a place to host club activities.

In most countries the central or local governments provide the sport facilities. Sport clubs have to pay a limited rent for the use of the facilities. However, for sport clubs these facility-related costs are still substantial. Other important costs are the fees that have to be paid to the governing sport federation, the salaries and remunerations, water and energy, taxes, insurances and costs for sport materials.

In most cases the greater part of the costs for sport clubs are fixed. This makes it hard to keep the budget in balance in times of financial hardship. Due to the economic recession sport clubs find it harder to find sponsors. However, almost all clubs are able to balance their revenues and costs and when asked (Belgium, the Netherlands) the greater part of the clubs regard their financial situation as (very) healthy or at least as stable. Only a small part of the sport clubs stress that they have a poor financial situation, though in Sweden (fairly/very poor 19 %) this share of sport clubs is substantial. Nonetheless, many sport clubs do mention their financial situation as one of the bottlenecks they face.

23.6 Bottlenecks of Sport Clubs

Though in most European countries sport clubs are traditionally the main suppliers for organised sport, in the last decades commercial suppliers have successfully penetrated the sport market. Especially those that focus on body and health, like fitness centres, and less to competition appeal to a greater extend to women. This makes recruiting and retaining members somewhat harder than before, especially for smaller clubs (Sweden, Switzerland). Another reason is that individualism in society is also recognisable in sports. People are less motivated to commit themselves for a long period to a sport club (training and competition on fixed times), making recruiting and retaining of members harder. A third reason why recruiting is getting harder is related to the enrolment of young athletes. As a result of a drop in birth rate in several European countries (e.g. Austria, Czech Republic, the Netherlands) there are simply less children to recruit.

Individualism also has a noticeable effect on recruiting and retaining volunteers (board members, coaches, officials), especially for team sport clubs, since they need more staff for training and matches than individual sport clubs. Many sport clubs find it hard to find staff that is willing to commit themselves to the club for the long-term.

Besides quantity also the quality of staff is an issue a club has to consider. In many cases the volunteers are overqualified, for example a local bank director as the treasurer, but when there are not that many volunteers, e.g. in small clubs, the quality might decrease. In other countries (Hungary, Poland) for some staff functions, like coaches, professionals are hired but the wages are low and in many cases a second occupation is needed, which does not make sport an appealing sector to work in.

Furthermore, in return for subsidies governments require sport clubs to help solving societal problems for which most clubs are not equipped. These tasks demand other qualities than what is needed for managing a club or providing sport activities.

In addition, sport clubs are faced with more administrative tasks and legal procedures, which ask for specific knowledge. This all requires more professionalism in sport clubs. This conflicts with the idea in most countries that a sport club in itself is an independent organisation that exists for and by its members.

Another bottleneck concerns funding, the worldwide economic recession also has consequences for sports. In general governments have less money to spend and have to make choices. This has an impact on the building and maintenance of sport facilities. Also on the national level choices have to be made, for example which sports to favour. As mentioned, on the local level sport clubs find it harder to find sponsors. Furthermore, clubs are reluctant to increase membership fees because it goes against the principle of sport for all.

In some countries there were also other major problems in funding sports. In the Czech Republic the lottery company SAZKA, a main source for funding amateur’s sport, went bankrupt, resulting in far lower municipal budgets for sports. On the opposite, in Austria funding from the Lotto-Toto lottery for sport increased substantially.

In some countries there is a huge demand for sport activities, but there are not enough facilities available. In Austria many football clubs do not have their own pitch and it is hard to afford the rent for these basic facilities. In Poland the sport infrastructure does not meet normal standards of quantity and quality for sport accommodations. Many are dilapidated and need comprehensive repair works.

23.7 Future of Sport Clubs in Europe

23.7.1 Fundamentals of Sport Clubs

The contributions have made it clear that sport clubs are well rooted in the European society. Even though there are unmistakably differences between countries, one could say that sport clubs are the core of the grassroots sport in Europe. Furthermore, it is noticeable that sport clubs are seen as valuable contributors to society. Sport in itself is considered beneficial for one’s health, social wellbeing and many other aspects of life and sport club participation is deemed to be even more beneficial due to its social structure, shared norms and values and attention for fair play and respect. As a result sport clubs are also well mentioned in sport policies and are put to use for exactly these purposes.

In Western and Northern European countries this process has started longer ago than in Eastern and to a less extent Southern European countries. Nevertheless, the Eastern part of Europe is slowly catching up, and paying specific attention to the position of sport clubs within the broader society. In times where sport policy is more oriented towards cooperation with other policy fields and contributing to their goals, sport clubs and sport governing bodies are important partners to achieve the common objectives.

23.7.2 Environmental Influence

For the near future sport clubs will experience several exogenous developments in Europe, which may affect their daily activities. For starters the ageing of society is a negative development for most of the sport clubs. The contributions illustrated the attractiveness of sport clubs for the younger population and a strong decline in membership rates by increasing age. With this the ageing of society is not beneficial for sport clubs in Europe, unless sport clubs find ways to increase the enrolment of older age groups within sport clubs.

Another development that can be noticed is that of consumerism and a growing sport market. Sport clubs are experiencing more competition by other sport providers than a few decades ago. Furthermore, on the one hand the expected quality of sport services increases, while on the other hand there is a decreasing interest to volunteer and a higher focus on consuming instead of contributing to services of sport clubs. This is among others reflected in the bottlenecks that were expressed by sport clubs in several countries. Recruiting volunteers and the quality of the volunteers to fulfil the higher demands of society is a problem that many sport clubs face, irrespectively of which country they are in.

The problem of volunteers also relates to the increasing workload of sport clubs with the decentralisation of tasks and responsibilities from local government to sport clubs, as well as due to the expansion of the role of sport clubs within policy. This development is mainly observed in the Western European countries and some Northern European countries. One example of the decentralisation is the maintenance of sport facilities, that is for instance in the Netherlands not seldom in the hands of sport clubs. So far this development is not reflected in an increasing number of paid employees in sport clubs. Even though sport clubs do have to a small extent paid staff, most of the work is done by volunteers. Furthermore, the training and development of volunteers seem to have little attention at the sport clubs. It remains to be seen if this will change with the higher demands of society and increasing responsibilities for sport clubs. It seems evident that this will require a higher degree of professionalisation of sport clubs.

A positive change is the development of transnational economies including Eastern European socialist countries. Sport clubs are profiting from this in especially the Eastern European countries. Negative though is the current financial crisis that has an influence on the European economy as well as on the financial situation within countries. Although most sport clubs report a healthy financial situation, they are also experiencing the negative effects of this with decreasing sponsorship budgets and less financial support of local governments. It is to be expected that the impact of the financial recession is not over yet. Also in the years to come the sport clubs will face financial challenges that relate to the drawbacks of the financial recession.

23.8 Research Programme: Research Agenda on Sport Clubs

This book has provided an overview of the current state of knowledge on sport clubs in Europe and with this a general understanding of the playing field. Throughout the book a general multilevel framework is used to get this overview of sport clubs in Europe. Using this general guideline also made it clear that the presence of data on sport clubs was quite different from one country to another. We signal in general a lack of data in the Eastern European countries, as well as in some Southern European countries, such as Greece. It is in the best interest for these sport clubs and for their contribution to society, that more data will be collected on sport clubs in these countries, to be able to optimise the utilisation of sport clubs and provide ample support attuned to the problems of sport clubs.

In this context, it is furthermore useful to have data that can compare the situation in different European countries more exactly by using the same method and questionnaires.

Within joint research projects, it would be possible to exchange knowledge on sport clubs and their role in sport policy in order to discuss best practice models which are collected in the participating countries (e.g. with regard to volunteering, recruiting new members or societal tasks). This could be the basis for a better sport club management in the context of current challenges, e.g. personal resources, finances, social inclusion.

In order to carry out comparable joint research, a collective theoretical framework is also necessary. Therefore, the theoretical concepts and particularly the multi level model presented in Chap. 2 could be helpful as an analytic framework. However, depending on the specific research question appropriate theoretical concepts have to be selected.

Given the developments of sport clubs in the last decades in Europe and the prospects for the future, it would be important to enhance the knowledge on sport clubs in Europe. Special attention should be paid to the following topics and questions (see also the current research topics in Chap. 2):

  • The increasing attention for social values of sport and role for sport clubs within policy to reach objectives or contribute to them;

  • The role of sport clubs in the context of the changing landscape of sport providers—e.g. private, municipal, commercial, school.—and the growing competition on the sports market

  • The financial situation and financial responsibilities of sport clubs;

  • The professionalisation and volunteering in sport clubs;

  • The recruitment and retaining of members in the context of developments in society (e.g. demographic transitions)

This book has offered interesting perspectives on sport clubs in different European countries and highlighted some interesting challenges for the future. In general it can be concluded that sport clubs have evolved over time and hold a strong position within the national sport systems and are valuable to sport for all and increasing the societal benefits of sport. Nevertheless there are clear differences between European countries that need further attention. Foremost, the potential of sport clubs justifies a stronger focus on sport clubs in research and monitoring on a European level as well as on a national level, especially in the Eastern European and some Southern European countries.