Public policies and sports in marginalised communities : the case of Cidade de Deus, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Significant economic development has been experienced by Brazilian society in recent years, leading to important changes in its social structures. The country’s success in attracting sport mega-events has resulted in the media increasingly portraying the current period as Brazil’s ‘‘sport decade.’’ This paper considers the phenomenon of sport participation in Brazil in the context of significant investments in sport mega-events. In particular, it considers how the Brazilian government has been delivering sport and physical activity opportunities for low socio-economic groups and the extent to which people living in a marginalised community have benefited from these developments. This involves an analysis of sport and physical activity projects and programmes supported by the Brazilian federal government in the community of Cidade de Deus, one of the most densely populated favelas in Rio de Janeiro. The area is located close to the Olympic Park, which will host most of the key facilities for the 2016 Olympic Games and so is a community that could be significantly impacted, positively or negatively, by the hosting of the event. The results of the investigation provide insights into the developments that have occurred in the provision of sport and physical activity opportunities to this marginalised community and the role public policies play in facilitating access to sport and physical activity.