Sport policy development in Latvia: historical legacies and governance transformation

This article examines the birth of Latvian sport policy, its institutional development and the contemporary configuration of the sport ecosystem. A documentary analysis of regulatory and policy regimes forms the methodological framework. Building on the regulatory framework, public sector structure, the role of the sports movement and the emergence of commercial actors, the study reconstructs Latvia’s socio-political transition from the early 20th century sport administration, then to centralisation during the Soviet era to the development of a multi-layered decentralised sport ecosystem following independence in 1991. Further, this paper provides an understanding of legal foundations, the sport policy landscape and key priorities.