Approaches to community sport policy analysis: a scoping review of key tenets of the Advocacy Coalition Framework

Community sport policy is characterised as complex, due in part to the competing interests of the stakeholders involved and the marginalisation of community sport clubs (CSCs). There is too great a focus on policy creation rather than effective policy analysis, and few studies have assessed the application of mainstream meso-level theories in sport policy studies. Further, there are weaknesses in policy processes that apply to community sport and an absence of a robust framework that factors in the viewpoints of all stakeholders. This study seeks to outline the potential for the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to fill that void. Through a scoping review, this paper identifies the application of key characteristics of the ACF in policy analysis relating to sport with a view to greater consideration of the framework in policy processes going forward. A database search of articles published from 2004 to 2025 identified the application of fundamental ACF constructs within sport policy research. A range of studies (n = 114) connected with sport policy contained relevant contextual determinants, suggesting that ACF principles are increasingly applicable in sport policy analysis. Overall, this paper provides the basis for the appraisal of community sport policy that demonstrates the ACF’s potential, through advocacy, for a more thorough and relevant approach to policy in which CSCs may become less sidelined in the process.