Introduction

The first edition of this Routledge Handbook of Sports Development was co-edited by Barrie Houlihan and Mick Green and was published in 2011. It was, at that time, one of the earliest such handbooks in the social sciences of sport and offered a comprehensive account of wide-ranging topics across sports development. Through the first edition, the significant contributions by Barrie, Mick, and all chapter authors have been widely read, shaping much of the subsequent work in sports development and leaving us with “big boots to fill” as co-editors of this second edition. We very much hope that this new edition does justice to the foundations of the first edition, whilst reflecting the significant work that has been undertaken in the interim and also helping to set a course for the future of sports development as well.