Who gets to play
Researchers call out class inequality in sport and education.
Sport is often celebrated as a great leveller - a meritocratic field where talent, determination and hard work reign supreme. But in a new podcast episode from Oxford Brookes Unscripted, researchers from Oxford Brookes University, St Mary's University Twickenham and the University of Bradford, argue that this narrative masks a deeper truth: social class still shapes who gets to play, who gets left out, and who gets to lead.
Dr Stuart Whigham, a senior lecturer in Sport, Coaching and Physical Education, joined by colleagues Dr Michael Hobson and Dr Izram Chaudry, for a candid discussion on how class-based inequality runs through the core of both school sport and elite-level competition. Drawing on personal experience and years of academic research, the group unpacked how opportunity, representation and access are often dictated less by merit and more by postcode.
“Sport reflects wider social divisions,” said Stuart. “There’s a romanticised idea that it’s open to all - but the reality, particularly in schools, tells a different story.”
The episode explores how physical education is shaped by entrenched class values, often reinforcing the privilege of certain groups while marginalising others. From the kinds of sports promoted in schools to the resources available in different communities, class remains a largely unspoken determinant of inclusion.
The researchers also examined how international sporting structures - from Olympic committees to national federations - tend to mirror elite pathways shaped by class, race and colonial legacies.
Importantly, the discussion didn’t stop at critique. The podcast highlights how sport can also be a space of resistance, where community-based programmes, athlete activism and inclusive policies are beginning to challenge the status quo.
The call to action is clear: if sport is to live up to its reputation as a force for good, it must first confront the structural inequalities that define who gets the chance to take part - not just on the pitch, but in the systems that govern it.