Near transfer occurs when:

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Transfer of learning is about taking what you’ve learned and using it in a different situation. Near transfer means the new task is very similar to what you practiced: the problems look alike, the context is the same or very similar, and you can apply the same procedure or rule with little or no change. For example, solving a set of similar algebra problems uses the same steps you learned, just in new problems that resemble the ones you practiced.

Far transfer is the opposite: applying that knowledge to a task that’s quite different in context or structure, requiring you to adapt or reinterpret the approach. It’s harder because the surface features don’t line up, so you have to reorganize your understanding to fit the new situation.

So the statement that near transfer involves tasks with similar contexts and far transfer involves dissimilar contexts matches how transfer works. Concepts like physical proximity or applicability only to sports don’t capture the idea of how closely the new task resembles the practiced one.