Sport-for-development in a nation-building state: reframing collaborative governance in the Singaporean context

This article critically examines the sport-for-development landscape within the distinctive sociopolitical context of Singapore, a centralised, urbanised city-state. Existing SFD literature has predominantly centred Global North perspectives, often emphasising participatory governance, individual empowerment and resistance to neoliberal logics. In contrast, this study investigates SportCares, a state-led SFD network agency, to explore how alternative governance perspectives shape participation and confer legitimacy. A total of 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholders, senior leadership, staff members, coaches, funders, collaborative partners, and cause champions. Building on Mintzberg’s (Citation2006) typology of development approaches, our findings highlight synergies between different development logics, illustrating how sport participation is framed as a civic responsibility closely tied to national cohesion and collective wellbeing. Collaboration is seen as coordinated and strategically designed, facilitated through integrated data systems and policy feedback loops. These dynamics are embedded within the broader national agenda, Vision 2030, which positions sport as a lifelong pathway for citizen development. The article contributes to SFD scholarship by offering a Southeast Asian case and highlights an alternative governance model that is ideologically cohesive, culturally embedded and sustained by state-defined priorities.