This book extends existing understandings of the increasingly prominent use of sport to address global development agendas. Through a locally-centred and contextualized analysis it presents a counterpoint to prevailing approaches to sport for development research that seeks either to evaluate and measure impact, or present internationally-orientated analyses.

Offering wide-ranging historical, political, economic and social contextualization, the study examines how a key period in the expansion of the sport for development sector unfolded in Zambia. It considers the significance of varying degrees of integration and partnership practices between sport and development agencies at different levels, and outlines approaches to the provision of sport for development activities in various communities.

By drawing on nearly a decade of multidisciplinary research undertaken with young people and adults living and working in urban communities in Zambia, the book provides a detailed examination of the lives, experiences and responses of young people involved in these activities drawn from their own accounts. Concluding reflections identify possibilities for enhancing understanding and improving research and evidence through methodologies that 'localize global sport for development'.

The unique approach and content will be highly relevant to academic researchers and post-graduate students studying sport and development across many different contexts.