Simon Darnell, University of Toronto

Research

Read how they describe their research on their University of Toronto profile.

Latest papers

The post-colonial challenges of climate change and sport for development and peace in the Anthropocene.
International review for the sociology of sport · 2025
Policy vs. practice in sport and climate change: the perspectives of key actors in global sport and international development.
Frontiers in sports and active living · 2024
'Safe Sport Is Not for Everyone': Equity-Deserving Athletes' Perspectives of, Experiences and Recommendations for Safe Sport.
Frontiers in psychology · 2022 · senior author

All 3 publications

Latest funding

Assessing the Human Rights Promises of FIFA 2026 in Toronto, Ontario
SSHRC · 2024 · Principal investigator
$46,394
Sport and Environmental Action in Canada: Scoping the Organizational Field
SSHRC · 2022 · Co-investigator
$23,659
Sport, development and environmental sustainability: history, policy and practice
SSHRC · 2018 · Principal investigator
$20,000

All 6 grants and awards

3 publications.

01

The post-colonial challenges of climate change and sport for development and peace in the Anthropocene.

Smith T, Millington R, Darnell S, Ali AE

International review for the sociology of sport2025

DOI: 10.1177/10126902251357604 PMID: 41323130

02

Policy vs. practice in sport and climate change: the perspectives of key actors in global sport and international development.

Ali AE, Millington R, Darnell S, Smith T

Frontiers in sports and active living2024

DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1297739 PMID: 38487255

03

'Safe Sport Is Not for Everyone': Equity-Deserving Athletes' Perspectives of, Experiences and Recommendations for Safe Sport.

Gurgis JJ, Kerr G, Darnell S

Frontiers in psychology2022Senior author

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.832560 PMID: 35321037

Assessing the Human Rights Promises of FIFA 2026 in Toronto, Ontario

Principal investigatorSSHRC2024Partnership Development Grants

Principal investigators: Darnell, Simon

Keywords: Sports; Human Rights; Vulnerable Populations; Youth; FIFA World Cup

$46,394

Sport and Environmental Action in Canada: Scoping the Organizational Field

Co-investigatorSSHRC2022Insight Development Grant

Principal investigators: Millington, Robert

Keywords: Sport sociology; Sport management; Sport ecology; Sport for development; Sport for good; Sport and sustainability; Sustainable development; Sustainability

$23,659

Sport, development and environmental sustainability: history, policy and practice

Principal investigatorSSHRC2018Sport Participation Research Initiative

Principal investigators: Darnell, Simon

Keywords: sport for development and peace; sport and environmentalism; sustainability; climate change; environmentalism; international development; sport studies; sustainable development

$20,000

Sport, development and environmental sustainability: history, policy and practice

Principal investigatorSSHRC2018Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Darnell, Simon

Keywords: sport for development and peace; sport and environmentalism; sustainability; climate change; environmentalism; international development; sport studies; sustainable development

$63,905

Sport and sustainable development: setting a research agenda

Principal investigatorSSHRC2016Connection Grants

Principal investigators: Darnell, Simon

Keywords: sport; sport for development; sport policy; environmentalism; climate change; development; sustainable development

$17,675

Changing the world through sport and play: investigating the experiences of Canadian development through sport volunteers

Principal investigatorSSHRC2007Sport Participation Research Initiative

Principal investigators: Darnell, Simon C.

Keywords: sport; international development; identity; subjectivity; sociology; race; class; gender; sexuality; qualitative research; Canada; post-colonial; geo-politics

$10,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Gretchen Kerr

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their SSHRC grant from 2024

Subject: Prospective PhD student Dear Professor Darnell, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "The post-colonial challenges of climate change and sport for development and peace in the Anthropocene." (2025), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Assessing the Human Rights Promises of FIFA 2026 in Toronto, Ontario" (2024), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]