A walk down the path of benevolence: Sport and international development from a Scandinavian horizon

ABSTRACT The ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ (SDP) sector emerged during the twenty-first century, which conceptualizes sport´s contribution to international development. Two Scandinavian SDP programmes serve as examples in this article: LdB FC for Life in South Africa (football and HIV/AIDS prevention) and Open Fun Football Schools in Moldova (football and peace building). Although there is a growing body of research highlighting a correlation between sport and socio-political benefits, it is acknowledged that more needs to be done to understand this connection and the impact sport can have. Furthermore, many SDP initiatives fail to translate ideas into action. Consequently, this illustrates a discrepancy between intention and implementation. On this basis, the aim of this paper is to analyse LdB FC for Life and Open Fun Football Schools from the initiators’, sponsors’, and donors’ perspectives. Accordingly, it seeks to explore the relationship between rhetoric and practice surrounding both projects.