This work presents an in-depth look at the sociology of sport. Chapter-opening objectives give readers an instant insight on how the chapter will fit into the framework of sports in sociology. Closing review questions give instructors and students the opportunity to discuss the concepts presented in each chapter, show understanding of those objectives and allow the reader to incorporate the chapter's concept into long-term projects or hands-on, out-of-class assignments. Narratives case studies of sports sociology taken from Europe and all over the world provide examples of how to interpret issues in professional and elite sports from a sociological perspective. The examples show the influence of sports in a broad spectrum of cultures, highlighting the global network that modern sport has become. As the reader is likely to be familiar with the case studies from newspaper sports pages, the discussion offers an enlightened view beyond the scoreboard. Debating points within the text offer provocative questions to engage readers in the issue while learning about it. The debating points present a question, then a brief discussion of the pros and cons, enabling the reader to learn how to assess sports sociology issues for themselves.