Prison Sport and the Sustainable Development Goals: Insights from Research on Physical Culture in Canadian Prisons

This chapter considers the complex relationship between sport, health and social development in prisons and places this area of research into dialogue with the literature on Sport for Development and Peace (SDP). Specifically, the chapter examines the potential and limitations for prison sport to contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a variety of domains and elucidates some further points of connection between research on prison sport and SDP. The chapter draws from data collected in three separate studies related to sport and physical culture in prisons and youth custody facilities, primarily in Canada, and uses participant experiences and views to illuminate key elements of the potential of prison sport to contribute to the SDGs.