Professor Elizabeth Pike
Professor Elizabeth Pike is an internationally recognised scholar whose work has made a significant contribution to the sociology of sport, with particular expertise in gender, equality, diversity and inclusion, ageing, and physical activity. She is Emeritus Professor at the University of Hertfordshire and former President of the International Sociology of Sport Association (ISSA), where she played a key role in strengthening the organisation and advancing international collaboration within the field.
Elizabeth's research has influenced policy, practice and scholarship across the world. She has published extensively on women and sport, social inclusion, ageing and physical activity, and has led numerous international research and leadership initiatives aimed at creating more equitable opportunities in and through sport.
She is internationally recognised for her leadership in advancing opportunities for women in sport, serving as Research Lead for the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport UK Secretariat (2022 - 2026) and as Project Director of the Women in Sport High Performance Pathway (WISH), supported by Olympic Solidarity. Through these and many other initiatives, she has worked with organisations and leaders across more than 60 countries to promote gender equality and strengthen women's leadership in sport.
Her outstanding contribution to the field has been recognised through numerous honours, including the 2024 International Olympic Committee Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award, celebrating her career-long commitment to creating opportunities for women in and through sport.
At EASS 2027, Professor Pike will deliver a keynote address exploring the conference theme, Sport in a Changing World, drawing on her extensive research and international experience to reflect on the evolving relationship between sport, society and social change.
Professor Les Back
Professor Les Back is Head of Sociology at the University of Glasgow and one of the United Kingdom's leading public sociologists. His research spans race and racism, migration, multiculturalism, urban life, music and sport, with a longstanding commitment to understanding how identity, belonging and inequality are experienced through everyday life.
Across a distinguished career, he has authored and co-authored numerous books and articles that have shaped contemporary sociological thinking, while remaining committed to bringing sociology beyond the university through journalism, broadcasting and public engagement.
Originally beginning his career as a youth worker in London, Professor Back's scholarship has been shaped by close engagement with communities and cultures, developing an approach to sociology grounded in listening, dialogue and everyday life. His recent work has explored the future of qualitative research and the craft of sociology, arguing for the continuing importance of attentive, creative and publicly engaged scholarship.
More recently, Professor Back has returned to the sociology of football and popular culture. Through writing, broadcasting and documentary work, he has examined football chants as a living form of folk culture, exploring how they express memory, identity, belonging and collective emotion. His recent commentary on the FIFA World Cup highlights how football provides a unique window into wider questions of nationhood, culture and social change, demonstrating how the game continues to illuminate some of the defining issues of contemporary society.
At EASS 2027, Professor Back will deliver a keynote address exploring the conference theme, Sport in a Changing World, drawing on his distinctive sociological perspective to reflect on the relationships between sport, culture, identity and contemporary social life.
