Dr Alessio Norrito

My profile

Biography

Dr. Norrito is an expert in the field of sport for development and peace. His interests lie in the sociology and management of sport, with a particular focus on applying philosophy and cultural sociology to organizational and informal contexts of sport and leisure. His research seeks to improve the well-being of marginalized communities and places through sport and leisure. He currently teaches in the areas of management and sociology of sport, at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Dr. Norrito holds a PhD from Loughborough University, and an MSc from the University of Edinburgh. His first major research project has looked at how football helps refugees positively resettle in Europe. Since then, he has worked on different research projects, such as promoting retention in sports for marginalized communities and looking at how sport for development initiatives can help reduce crime. He has recently completed a project exploring the careers of footballers with a forced migration, funded by the UEFA Academy. While doing his PhD, he has served as the managing editor for the Journal of Sport for Development, and as a Co-Lead for the Loughborough UNESCO Student Network. He has recently received the Young Researcher Award 2024 from the European Association for the Sociology of Sport. His research and work has been featured in different media outlets, such as Sky Sports, The Conversation, and different Italian newspapers.

Teaching

Courses

Supervision

I am available to supervise PhD students with an interest in sociology, cultural sociology, and/or philosophy. Particularly, I welcome expressions of interests in the areas of:

- Sport for Development and Peace

- Sport and Migration

- Sport and Emotions

- Sport Consumption

- Sport Marketing

Please feel free to send a proposal of your research project to [email protected]

Research outputs

Norrito, A. (2024). Between hope and cruel optimism? The dangers and possibilities of football in fostering hope for male refugees. Leisure Studies, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2024.2387027 

Norrito, A., La Cara, R., Sella, A., Giulianotti, R., & Mason, C. (2023). Building bridges in the Mediterranean: circular cooperation and sport for development and peace for refugees in Italy. Journal of Sport for Development. https://jsfd.org/2024/05/21/building-bridges-in-the-mediterranean-circular-cooperation-and-sport-for-development-and-peace-for-refugees-in-italy/ 

Norrito, A., Michelini, E., Giulianotti, R., & Mason, C. (2023). ‘Refugee footballers’: A socioecological exploration of forced migrants in the Italian and German elite football system. International Review for the Sociology of Sport59(1), 119-138.. https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902231179071

Norrito, A., & Mason, C. (2022). Lampedusa, football and COVID-19: transitions at the border and the role of sport. Contemporary Social Science18(1), 26-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/21582041.2022.2155868