After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

• Define social class, life chances, and social stratification in sociological terms.
• Give examples of how economic inequality, class relations, and power are manifested in sports today, especially in connection with sport participation, attendance at sport events, and sport programmes for people with disabilities.
• Identify who has power in sports today, and the interests that are served by that power.
• Explain how sports have become cultural vehicles for establishing ideological outposts in the minds of people around the world.
• Explain how sports have become vehicles for transferring public money into the hands of private individuals and corporations.
• Explain how class relations, gender relations, and race relations come together and influence sport participation patterns in people’s everyday lives.
• Discuss the ways that disability sports are related to issues of class inequality and class relations.
• Outline the economic and career opportunities that exist in sports today, especially for women and racial and ethnic minorities.
• Summarize research findings on the occupational careers of former athletes, and the relationship between playing sports and achieving occupational success.
• Identify the major challenges faced by retiring athletes.