Sport is one of the great joys of the human condition for athletes and spectators alike. It can bring happiness, livelihood, physical health, and mental well-being, and it provides an education in teamwork, discipline, maturity, and humility. If that is to continue, sport must face up to serious structural challenges, both within and around it. It doesn’t simply inherit society’s problems; it can reinforce and broadcast them, or, handled differently, help to dismantle them. But what are the challenges, and what steps can be taken?

Here I seek to address exactly that.  Along with accomplished guests, I look at planetary boundaries, sexism, racism, sponsorship ethics, mental and physical health, social justice, and more. We’ll talk about potential remedies and how each of us can make a difference. Change starts with conversation, can build into awareness and mobilisation, and, with luck and persistence, can lead to something more like meaningful change.

About the Person

Benjamin Mole is a Doctoral Researcher at Loughborough University London, UK.

Benjamin has an undergraduate degree in International Business from the University of Edinburgh and a master's degree in Global Sustainable Development from Lund University in Sweden. He has 5 years of industry experience in renewable energy and sport for climate action, including as a former employee and current volunteer at Pledgeball, supporting research.

Based largely on the planetary boundaries literature (Rockström et al., 2009), Benjamin is concerned for the planet's future, particularly in the context of justice for marginalised regions, groups and biodiversity.

Benjamin is from South Africa and his work endeavours to establish better representation for Southern Africa, both as a source of knowledge and as an area to be protected from the potential mistakes of more ‘developed’ regions.

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