This introductory essay by Special Issue Editor, Catherine Palmer, introduces a double issue of the International Review for the Sociology of Sport focused on the contemporary agenda of research on alcohol within the field of sociology of sport. In introducing the articles in the special issue, Palmer considers the diverse intersectional concerns relevant to understanding sport and alcohol in a larger socio-cultural dynamic. Noted are the needs to move beyond assumptions of hegemonic masculinity and ‘problems-focused approaches’ to more nuanced understandings of place and consequence about the roles of alcohol in sporting subcultures.
