Sport policy as social governance: Inclusion and contested belonging in Qatar

This article examines how sport policy functions as a form of social governance through which inclusion, well-being, sustainability, citizenship and belonging are negotiated in Qatar. Drawing on a triangulated qualitative research design combining 19 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, policy document analysis and case-based evidence, the study explores how sport is mobilised within Qatar National Vision 2030 and through the legacies of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 to advance broader social development objectives. The findings show that sport initiatives contribute to youth development, well-being, social participation and forms of belonging, while simultaneously reproducing inequalities associated with gender norms, access conditions and institutional arrangements. Sustainability emerges not only as an environmental objective but also as a governance discourse linked to responsibility, legitimacy and long-term development. Rather than functioning as inherently inclusive spaces, sport programmes operate within broader political and institutional frameworks that regulate participation and recognition. The article contributes to the sociology of sport by conceptualising sport policy as a field of social governance that actively negotiates and contests inclusion, citizenship and belonging.