Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Sport and recreation — Revision Notes

These notes condense the Sport and recreation study guide. Test yourself afterwards with the Sport and recreation practice questions.

They follow the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025): the topic list in section 3, the assessment objectives in section 2 and the component details in section 4. The topic list is for all components, so Sport and recreation could be the context for Component 1 Written Exam, Component 2 Individual Report or Component 3 Team Project. Knowledge of this topic is not assessed. These notes show how to use it to practise the skills that are: research, analysis and evaluation, reflection, communication and collaboration. See also the Global Perspectives hub and the 0457 checklist.

What each component wants from this topic

Component	What you do with Sport and recreation
Component 1 Written Exam (1 hour 25 minutes, 70 marks)	Analyse unseen sources on a sport issue; evaluate research and evidence; judge arguments; assess actions. AO1 only.
Component 2 Individual Report (1500–2000 words, 60 marks)	Choose a sport issue that divides opinion; devise a global research question; local and/or national and global perspectives; causes, consequences, one proposed course of action
Component 3 Team Project (70 marks)	Pick a local sport or recreation issue; research different perspectives; plan, carry out and measure an action; write a Reflective Paper

Key terms

Term	Meaning (syllabus wording where printed)
Issue	“an important subject or problem for discussion”
Perspective	“a viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning”
Research	“the systematic study of a global issue to find evidence and develop understanding”
Evidence	“information about a global issue that helps to develop understanding or prove that something is true or false”
Argument	“a series of statements containing reasons and evidence which support a claim about a global issue”
Claim	A statement put forward as true, which may or may not be supported
Prediction	A statement about the future, such as “the Games will create 40,000 jobs”
Vested interest	A personal or financial stake in the outcome, such as a sponsor or bid committee
Generalisation	A broad conclusion from too few cases, such as one athlete’s story
Value	A belief about what matters, such as pride, fairness or local wellbeing
Recreation	Activity for enjoyment in free time, such as walking or using a park
Grassroots sport	Everyday participation in local clubs, schools and parks
Elite sport	Top-level competition by professional or national-team athletes
Mega-event	A very large international event, such as the Olympic Games
Legacy	Long-term effects of an event: venues, transport, debt, participation

Real examples at a glance

Use these only as practice material or research starting points. They earn no marks on their own.

Example	What happened	Why it is useful	One evaluation point
UN 2030 Agenda (2015)	States “Sport is also an important enabler of sustainable development”	A global perspective on what sport can do	A value statement, not evidence of results
Montreal 1976 Olympics	Stadium debt not fully paid off until 2006	Shows long-term cost consequences	One case; later hosts used different funding models
Victoria and the 2026 Commonwealth Games	Withdrew in July 2023, citing an estimated cost of A$6–7 billion	A government judging cost against benefit	The benefits it set against the cost were themselves estimates
Glasgow 2026	Smaller Games with 10 sports, existing venues, no athletes’ village	A course of action to cut hosting costs	Fewer sports means fewer athletes and nations gain
WADA (set up 1999)	Coordinates anti-doping rules across sports and countries	Global action on fairness	Critics question how consistently rules are enforced
Equal prize money in tennis	US Open from 1973; Wimbledon from 2007	Change by organisers after pressure	Prize money at the top says little about pay lower down
Paris 2024	First Olympics with an equal number of places for women and men	Global action on gender balance	Elite parity does not show local participation
Esports at the Asian Games (Hangzhou, 2023)	Medal events for the first time	Shows the meaning of “sport” being debated	Some argue sport needs physical exertion

Perspectives to look for

• Athletes: fairness, safety, pay, careers.
• Fans: ticket prices, access, the game itself.
• Residents near venues: noise, traffic, rents, lost green space.
• Governments: pride, tourism and health versus cost.
• Governing bodies: rules, events and the income they bring.
• Sponsors and broadcasters: vested interest in audiences and sales.
• Community groups and taxpayers: could the money do more locally?

Always add why: the reason or value behind each view.

Must-know distinctions

• Topic versus issue. “Sport and recreation” is a topic; “Should cities bid to host the Olympics?” is an issue.
• Fact versus prediction. “The stadium cost 900 million” can be checked; “the stadium will pay for itself” cannot yet.
• Elite versus grassroots. Medals at the top do not prove more people play locally.
• Link versus cause. Participation rising after an event does not prove the event caused it.
• Temporary versus lasting. Jobs or visitors during a ten-day event are not the same as long-term change.
• Testimony versus pattern. One star’s story is personal testimony, not evidence of a national trend.
• Course of action versus outcome. Building a sports centre is the action; more people being active is the outcome.

Evidence checklist for any sport source

1. Who wrote or funded it? Do they gain from the claim?
2. Fact, opinion, prediction or generalisation?
3. What exactly is counted: jobs, visitors, “participation”?
4. Sample: how many, chosen how, representative of whom?
5. Is there a “before” figure and a comparison place or group?
6. Short-term or long-term effect?
7. Is emotive language (“a generation inspired”) doing the work instead of data?

Mini plan: an “evaluate the arguments” answer

Typical task: a source gives two people’s arguments about whether a city should host a major sports event; evaluate them and judge which is better supported.

1. Opening judgement: state which argument is stronger and the main reason.
2. Argument 1, strengths: specific data or a clear chain of reasoning; quote it.
3. Argument 1, weaknesses: prediction, vested interest, missing comparison, one example stretched too far.
4. Argument 2, strengths and weaknesses: same tests; compare directly with Argument 1.
5. Values: name the value each speaker relies on (pride, growth, local wellbeing, fairness) and note that values are not evidence.
6. Conclusion: a clear judgement that follows from the quality of reasoning and evidence, not from whether you agree.

For an “assess actions” answer, keep the same core but judge each action on effectiveness, cost, fairness, side effects and sustainability, then decide.

Quick self-test

1. What does the 0457 syllabus say about knowledge of content?
2. Give the syllabus definition of an issue.
3. Which assessment objective is the only one in the Written Exam?
4. Why is “The Games will bring 500,000 visitors” a prediction?
5. Give one example of a vested interest in a sport source.
6. What is the difference between elite and grassroots sport?
7. Name one global, one national and one local issue within this topic.
8. Why does a rise in participation after an event not prove the event caused it?
9. Give two criteria for judging a course of action.
10. What is the word range for the Team Project’s Explanation of Research and Planning?
11. What should Evidence of Action not include, according to the syllabus?

Answers

1. Knowledge of content is not assessed; topics are contexts for practising skills.
2. “An important subject or problem for discussion.”
3. AO1 Research, analysis and evaluation.
4. It is about the future, so it cannot yet be checked against evidence.
5. For example, a bid committee claiming benefits, a sponsor praising an event, or a club selling memberships.
6. Elite sport is top-level competition; grassroots sport is everyday local participation.
7. For example: the cost of hosting mega-events (global); funding for elite versus community sport (national); playing fields sold for housing (local).
8. It might have happened anyway; without a comparison place or group you cannot tell.
9. Any two of: effectiveness, cost, fairness, side effects, sustainability, who acts.
10. 300–400 words.
11. Evidence of research or initial meetings to discuss the project.

Where marks are usually lost

• Using outside facts about sport in the Written Exam instead of the sources provided.
• Treating a bid committee’s or sponsor’s figures as facts.
• Saying “biased” without naming who gains and how.
• Missing that “jobs created” may be temporary, or that “participation” is not defined.
• Accepting a before-and-after rise with no comparison group.
• Judging an argument by whether you agree with it rather than by its evidence and reasoning.
• Describing a group’s view without explaining the value behind it.
• Assessing only one action when the question asks for several.
• In the Individual Report, writing a question with only one answer, or forgetting the global perspective.
• In the Team Project, starting the action before collecting “before” data.

For more on each component, see the Written Exam revision notes, the Individual Report revision notes and the Team Project revision notes.

Official syllabus

Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025), published by Cambridge International. See section 3 for the topic list and key terms, section 2 for the assessment objectives, and section 4 for the components and command words.