Building social capital through an 'active community club'

The building of social capital at community level is explored by assessing the impact of the Australia Africa 2006 Sport Development Programme's Active Community Clubs Initiative as a catalyst of developing networks and active citizenship in the impoverished rural village of Tshabo, in the Easter Cape Province of South Africa. Main paradigms of neo-classical capital theory (Bourdieu), Coleman's rational choice theory, network theory, Putnam's framework of civil engagement and Verweel's multi-level analysis inform the conceptual framework for analysis. Pre- and post-impact assessments utilized interviews (18 major stakeholders) and focus group sessions during three intervals over a 13-month period which included a representative sample of community leaders (n = 13), households (n = 47), volunteer coaches and administrators ( n = 28) and participants who participated in the programme (n = 121). Participation in the Active Community Club's programmes interfaced with other normative social institutional spheres to generate social capital at an individual and community level.