9. Sport Entrepreneurship Education and Policy

Sport is taught at a range of educational levels from primary and high school to post-graduate university level. Most of the existing educational programs about sport focus on the fitness or physical activity component rather than the business perspective. There has been a tendency to stay with the established curriculum rather than try new and innovation sport management subjects. Due to the increased interest in sport business there needs to be a change in sport education to include more emphasis on entrepreneurship education. In addition, there has been an increase in the number of students who will be self-employed in the sport sector. These students are entering different kinds of careers than in the past that require entrepreneurial thinking. The goal of this chapter is to discuss why there needs to be a new field of sport entrepreneurship education taught in educational institutions. This will help teach students about business principles that are needed for their future careers. This chapter addresses the concept of sports entrepreneurship education as well as some aspects related to the role of education in sport. The chapter concludes by discussing how the view of entrepreneurship education has changed in the last decade with the realization that more practical experience is necessary in sport.