Recognizing the importance of timing in efforts to drive institutional change, this study examined how actors engage in “temporal institutional work” in their attempts to disrupt inequitable institutions in sport. A qualitative case study was conducted on football (soccer) in Australia wherein significant gender equity reforms have been enacted. The findings revealed how the temporal activities of entraining (e.g., capitalizing on external interventions), constructing urgency (e.g., through advocacy), and enacting momentum (e.g., through consensus-based leadership) allowed actors to exploit a time-sensitive window of opportunity for change, quickly foster a perception of irreversibility that structural change would occur, and generate synchronicity with broader reforms. Inspired by the breakthroughs in Australian football, this research highlights temporal-based strategies for combating gender inequity in sport. Theoretically, this study extends research on institutional work in sport by illuminating the key role that timing norms play during institutional change.

认识到时机在推动制度变革的努力中的重要性，这项研究研究了参与者如何参与“临时制度工作”，以试图破坏体育领域的不平等制度。对澳大利亚足球进行了一项定性案例研究，其中颁布了重大的性别平等改革。研究结果揭示了诱导（例如，利用外部干预）、构建紧迫性（例如，通过倡导）和制定动力（例如，通过基于共识的领导力）等时间活动如何让参与者利用对时间敏感的机会之窗对于变革，要迅速培养一种结构性变革将会发生的不可逆转的观念，并与更广泛的改革产生同步性。受澳大利亚足球突破的启发，这项研究强调了基于时间的策略来对抗体育运动中的性别不平等。从理论上讲，本研究通过阐明计时规范在制度变迁中发挥的关键作用，扩展了对体育制度工作的研究。