Sports social policy: savior, protector, or manager of poverty?
Sport, Social policy; poverty; violence.
In our theoretical, investigative, and reflective journey, we have chosen sports social policies as the research object, aiming to investigate the foundational determinants of these policies that have hegemonized expressions such as social risk, social vulnerability, social inclusion, and the fight against drugs and crime. These determinants are manifested in territorial aspects, social exclusion, and violence. The goal is to uncover aspects of sports social policy and its specificities in assuming certain values and transformative potential in the reality of populations immersed in various social problems. In this context, our objective is to analyze the configuration, scope, and political-ideological determinants of sports social policy in Brazil and its social functions in the post-Federal Constitution of 1988 period, particularly between the governments of Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Bolsonaro. Methodologically, our research incorporates the historical-dialectical materialist approach, with Gramscian categories of hegemony and integration serving as elements for political and scientific analysis. Regarding the design, this study has a qualitative nature and is characterized as exploratory social research, utilizing techniques such as bibliographic research, documentary analysis, and systematic review. Our hypothesis considers neoliberal hegemony as the central determinant of sports social policies, with its ultimate social function being the management of poverty and the control of violence.