International Level

The sociology of sport is internationally represented by the International Sociology of Sport Association (ISSA, formerly ICSS, founded in 1965), which also publishes the International Review for the Sociology of Sport

ISSA is a research committee of the International Sociological Association (ISA) where it is officially recognised as RC27 (Sociology of Sport) and also an official committee of ICSSPE (the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education).

At present there are over 200 members from different parts of the globe. ISSA holds annual conferences, including RC27 (Sociology of Sport) meetings in conjunction with the ISA World Congress of Sociology.

As an international organisation, ISSA consults with national and regional groups. Some national groups are federated with the national sociological association of that country, or with a sport science/physical education organisation. Either through ISA or ICSSPE such groups have a direct link to ISSA. There are also regional groups in areas such as Asia and North America – with NASSS, the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, which publishes the Sociology of Sport Journal, is the most-well known regional group. European researchers are also linked to the European Association for Sociology of Sport (EASS) and the European College of Sport Science (ECSS).

Regional and National Sociology of Sport Associations

Below you will find a list of national and regional associations which deal either exclusively or in large proportion with the sociology of sport. Where known, links to these associations’ websites are provided:

Albanian Sociological Association
American Sociology of Sport Association
Asociación Latinoamericana de Estudios Socioculturales del Deporte
Associação Portuguesa de Sociologia
Association Française de Sociologie (RC41)
Association Francophone pour la Recherche en Activités Physiques et Sportives
Australian Sociological Association
Canadian Sociological Association (Sociology of sport)
Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales
European Association for the Sociology of Sport
Federation Espanola de Sociologia
Finnish Society of Sport Sciences; LTS Liikuntatieteellinen Seura
Hungarian Society of Sport Science
Hungarian Sociological Association (Sport Sociological Division)
Indian Sociological Society
Indian Sociological Society (RC25)
International Association of French-speaking Sociologists
International Society of Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise
Japan Society of Sport Sociology
Korean Society for the Sociology of Sport
Mulier Institute (not an association), Netherlands
North American Society for the Sociology of Sport
Russian Society of Sociologists
Sociedade Brasileira de Sociologia
Société de Sociologie du Sport de Langue Française
South African Sociological Association
Taiwan Body Culture Society
Taiwan Society of Sport Sociology