The purpose of this article is to describe the theoretical tendencies, analyze the emerging tensions and propose the points of convergence of the theories of sports development. From an exploratory analysis of the various theoretical approaches described sports development, the emphasis of political tensions, ideological and market were analyzed. Finally, the points of convergence of sports development theories are proposed. It is concluded that sports development adopts different emphases in response to political situations and ideologies and shows its main theoretical advances in the management of elite sport, however, the most extensive evidence focuses on the influence of sport on the processes of social change.