The Role of Sports Organizations in Advancing Sustainable Development Goals in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh
Keywords:
Sustainable Development Goals, Sports Organizations, Social Capital, Community Engagement, Physical ActivityAbstract
Background: Sports organisations can significantly contribute to sustainable development by fostering health, enhancing social inclusion, encouraging community involvement, and strengthening social bonds. This study explored the contribution of sports organisations towards selected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Rajshahi, Bangladesh.
Methods: A mixed-methods design was used. A total of 102 participants took part in the study, comprising 91 athletes and 11 officials and stakeholders from five sports organisations. The study used a two-stage data collection process; in the first stage, data were gathered through in-person interviews and focus-group discussions, and in the second stage, data were gathered through document analysis.
Results: Athletes reported that they participated in a variety of social-development activities. The largest participation was in blood donation (82%), followed by drug awareness activities (59%), tree plantation (35%), and providing education to the illiterate (10%). Furthermore, 84.6% of athletes perceived high or very high interpersonal relationships in sports organisations, which means that there are strong social relationships within sports organisations.
Conclusion: Sports organisations in Rajshahi contribute to sustainable development primarily through health-related activities, community involvement, and building social capital. More systematic and inclusive programs can further build the role of local sports organisations in contributing to the SDGs and improve their broader social impact on the community. The results emphasise sports as a real-life community-based tool for promoting interconnected social and developmental agendas.
Downloads
References
Asensio-Hernández, M., Jiménez-Martín, P. J., & Jiménez-Martín, A. (2026). Physical Activity and Sport Interventions to Prevent Drug Use: A Systematic Review Including Different Intervention Paradigms. Substance Use & Misuse, 61(11), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2026.2628149
Corvino, C., Moriconi, M., Costa, C. M., & D’Angelo, C. (2023). Editorial: Sport as a tool for social inclusion, employment, and improved health. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 5, 1273858. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2023.1273858
Dingle, G., & Mallen, C. (2020). Introduction to research on sport and environmental sustainability (pp. 1–13). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003003694-1
Elmose-Østerlund, K., Seippel, Ø., Llopis-Goig, R., Van Der Roest, J.-W., Adler Zwahlen, J., & Nagel, S. (2019). Social inte-gration in sports clubs: individual and organisational factors in a European context. European Journal for Sport and Society, 16(3), 268–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/16138171.2019.1652382
Fiorilli, G., & Buonsenso, A. (2026). Special Issue “Sports Medicine and Public Health”. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, 11(2), 156. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk11020156
Flemington, A., Loughead, T. M., & Desrosiers, M. (2023). Assessing athlete leadership and cohesion using a social network analysis approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1050385. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1050385
Haque, O., & Hackel, L. M. (2026). Beyond Reciprocity: Common Knowledge of Social Identity Enhances the Intrinsic Value of Ingroup Trust. Center for Open Science. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/y2qnb_v1
Kim, H., & Kim, K. (2025). Social Connections Through Mediated Sports: The Influence of Consuming Sport Content on Building Social Capital. Research in Dance and Physical Education, 9(1), 17–32. https://doi.org/10.26584/rdpa.2025.9.1.17
Lemke, W. (2016). The role of sport in achieving the sustainable development goals. UN Chronicle, 53(2), 6–9. https://doi.org/10.18356/7260830a-en
M, S. K., Rao, A., Bhavnani, G. G., & Reddy, K. D. (2024). A Comprehensive Analysis of How Sports Affect Youth Develop-ment and Social Skills. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology, 12(2), 1529–1531. https://doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2024.58574
Mazhar, S. A. (2021). Methods of Data Collection: A Fundamental Tool of Research. Journal of Integrated Community Health, 10(01), 6–10. https://doi.org/10.24321/2319.9113.202101
Mello, L. E. (2024). THE IMPORTANCE OF SPORT IN THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS. LUMEN ET VIRTUS, 15(43). https://doi.org/10.56238/levv15n43-156
Oecd, O. (2023). Executive summary. Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development. https://doi.org/10.1787/0679984e-en
Othman, A. G., Abdulaziz, Mohammed, B. S., Fahad, Ali, A. H., Ibrahim, Mehmas, A. M., Hind, Mueallath, A. R., Ahmad, Sager, A. M., Aggab, & Kaseb, A. A., Abdulrahman. (2019). The Positive Impact of Sport on Individual and Societal Health: A Critical Review. EPH - International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 4(3), 26–31. https://doi.org/10.53555/eijhss.v4i3.199
Pedersen, M., & King, A. C. (2023). How Can Sport-Based Interventions Improve Health among Women and Girls? A Scoping Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(6), 4818. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064818
Quintela, J. A. (2025). Sport for social cohesion: theoretical and practical perspectives. World Leisure Journal, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/16078055.2025.2559788
Raw, K., & Sherry, E. (2021). An overview of SDG 4 (pp. 95–105). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003023968-11
Swandana , A., Ahmad, N. Y., Trinanda, A., Al Azim, A. A., & Porto, J. A. (2025). Integration of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy with Adaptive Swimming Instruction for Children with Water-Related Anxiety Disorders: A Randomised Controlled Trial. INSPIREE: Indonesian Sport Innovation Review, 6(02), 98-105. https://doi.org/10.53905/inspiree.v6i02.147
Tabassum, N., & Azim, A. (2024). Common Sports Injuries, Training Load and Treatment Strategies for Optimal Recovery in Female University Athletes. International Journal of Active & Healthy Aging, 2(2), 53-59. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14551109
Thomas, P. G., Walters, S., Lucas, P., & Oldham, A. R. H. (2026). The give and take of social support in professional athlete career pathways. Journal of Sports Sciences, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2026.2619321
Wäsche, H. (2020). The social capital structure of a small-scale sport event: configuration, evolution, and legacy. Inter-national Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 20(3/4), 289. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijsmm.2020.110846
Zhou, R., Kaplanidou, K., & Wegner, C. (2021). Social capital from sport event participation: scale development and val-idation. Leisure Studies, 40(5), 612–627. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2021.1916832
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Md. Tawfiq Shalahin Tushar, A.K.M. Mahmudul Haque, Jannatul Rouza Rifa (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Chat with us