Dr Vassil Girginov

Dr Vassil Girginov is Reader in Sport Management/Development. Previously he has worked as advisor to the Chairman of the Bulgarian Sports Union, on the Sofia bids for the Winter Olympic Games and in higher education institutions in Bulgaria and Canada. He has been researching the sports development legacy of the 2012 London Olympic Games and the relationship between the culture of national sports governing bodies and participation in sport. Vassil is the editor of the official two volume collection on the London 2012 Games published by Routledge, and is also an Executive Editor of the 2012 Routledge Special Olympic Journals Issue that involves some 45 journals from a range of academic disciplines. Vassil is currently working on two research projects: ‘Creation and transfer of knowledge within the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games’ (supported by LOCOG and Podium), and ‘UK National Governing Bodies of sport leveraging of the London Olympics for capacity building’ (supported by Sport England and UK Sport). His research interests, publications and industry experience are in the field of Olympic movement, sport development, comparative management and policy analysis. His most recent books include Sport Management Cultures (Routledge, 2011), The Olympics: A Critical Reader (Routledge, 2010), Management of Sports Development, (Elsevier, 2008) and The Olympic Games Explained (Routledge, 2005, the book has been translated in 5 languages).

Dr Girginov is Visiting Professor at the Russian International Olympic University.

Research Details

Research Grants and Contracts

• 2006 The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, The Culture of National Sport Organisation and Participation in Sport (Principle Investigator)
• 2005 British Academy, The Politics of International Sport Aid: Olympic Solidarity (IOC) and Goal (FIFA) (Principle Investigator)
• 2003 British Academy, The Changing Nature of Sport Organisations in Transforming Societies, (Principle Investigator)
• 2003 Executive Committee, Games of the Small States of Europe, Culture of Sport Management: An eight countries study, (Principle Investigator)

Research Centre

Publications

Journal Papers

(2012) Girginov, V., Governance of London 2012 Olympic Games legacy, International Review for the Sociology of Sport 1- 16

(2012) Girginov, V., The political process of constructing a sustainable London Olympics sport legacy: Three years on, Reflective Practice 13 (3) : 483- 486

(2012) Zhuang, J. and Girginov, V., Volunteer selection and social, human and political capital: A case study of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Managing Leisure 17 (2-3) : 239- 256

(2010) Girginov, V., Culture and the study of sport management, European Sport Management Quarterly 10 (4) : 397- 417

(2009) Girginov, V. and Hills, L., The political process of constructing a sustainable London olympics sports development legacy, International Journal of Sport Policy 1 (2) : 161- 181 Download publication

(2009) Girginov, V., Bulgarian sport policy 1945-1989: a strategic relation approach, International Journal of the History of Sport 26 (4) : 515- 538 Download publication

(2009) Girginov, V., Taks, M., Boucher, B., Martyn, S., Holman, M. and Dixon, J., Canadian National Sport Organisations' use of the Web for relationship marketing, International Journal of Sport Communications 2 (2) : 164- 184 Download publication

(2008) Girginov, V. and Hills, L., A sustainable sports legacy: Creating a link between the London Olympics and sports participation, International Journal of the History of Sport 25 (14) : 2091- 2117

(2008) Girginov, V., Creative tensions: 'Join in London' meets ' Dancing Beijing' - the cultural power of the olympics, International Journal of the History of Sport 25 (7) : 893- 914

(2008) Girginov, V. and Sandanski, I., Understanding the changing nature of sports organisations in transforming societies, Sport Management Review 11 21- 50 Download publication

(2006) Girginov, V., Creating a corporate anti-doping culture: The role of Bulgarian sports governing bodies, Sport in Society 9 (2) : 252- 268 Download publication

(2006) Girginov, V., De D'Amico, RL. and Papadimitriou, D., Cultural orientations of sport managers, European Sport Management Quarterly 6 (1) : 35- 66 Download publication

(2004) Girginov, V. and Sandarski, I., From participants to competitors: The transformation of British gymnastics and the role of the Eastern European model of sport, International Journal of the History of Sport 21 (5) : 815- 832

(2004) Girginov, V., Totalitarian sport: Towards an understanding of its logic, practice and legacy, Totalitarian Movements & Political Religions 5 (1) : 25- 58

(2001) Girginov, V., Strategic relations and sport policy making: The case of aerobic union and school sports federation Bulgaria, Journal of Sport Management 15 (3) : 173- 194

(1999) Girginov, V. and Bankov, P., Fascist political athletes and the body politic: Bulgaria reborn., The International Journal of the History of Sport 16 (4) : 82- 103 Download publication

Book Chapters

(2012) Girginov, V., Governance of the Games. In: Girginov, V. ed. Handbook of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - Volume One: Making the Games. Routledge

(2012) Girginov, V., Making the London Olympic & Paralympic Games: the story so far. In: Girginov, V. ed. Handbook of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - Volume One: Making the Games.. Routledge

(2012) Girginov, V., Olympic and Paralympic Governing Bodies of Sport and the Games. In: Girginov, V. ed. Handbook of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - Volume One: Making the Games. Routledge

(2012) Girginov, V., Social, political, economic and operational context of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games: An introduction. In: Girginov, V. ed. Handbook of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - Volume One: Making the Games. Routledge

(2008) Girginov, V., Management of sports development as an emerging field and profession. In: Management of Sports Development. Oxford : Elsevier 3- 38

(2008) Girginov, V., Managing visions, changes and delivery in sports development: summary and prospects. In: Girginov, V. ed. Management of Sports Development. Oxford : Elsevier 277- 284

Books

(2012) Girginov, V., Handbook of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - Volume One: Making the Games. Routledge

(2010) Girginov, V., The olympics: a critical reader. Routledge

(2008) Girginov, V., Management of sports development. Elsevier