Facilitating sport for development by partnering organizational support and local coaches

This thesis examines the role of the local coach in sport for development (SFD) through an organizational case study that highlights the controversial use of international partnerships in educating local leaders in sport. The field of SFD is no longer emerging; it has become a highly researched and critiqued genre of development practice. Sport has been promoted as a new engine of development by international agencies, governments, and sport organizations. Overviews, critiques, and case studies have popularized sport in development rhetoric and discussed new, innovative, and contentious applications of sport in development. This thesis contributes to that growing body of knowledge by directing more specific attention to local Cameroonian sport coaches as facilitators of community-based SFD through an organizational case study of the non-governmental organization Coaches Across Continents (CAC). The purpose of this thesis was to explore processes for effective collaboration with local organizations in support of local coaches as facilitators of SFD practice. This was accomplished through two stand-alone articles. The first is a qualitative case study of CAC's methodology. Their model lays emphasis on local partnerships and leadership implemented through a 'drop-in' approach that controversially initiates dialogue to develop the confidence and efficacy of local organizations and coaches to facilitate SFD programmes. The second article is a more specific investigation of how local Cameroonian coaches see themselves contributing to their communities through sport. It follows their thoughts, experiences, and relationships with their community as the trusted facilitators of Cameroon's most beloved pastime, football.