ABSTRACT

Sport can be a vehicle for the expression of identity, and also a factor in the shaping of identity. This book explores the complex interrelationships between nations, regions and states in the landscape of contemporary international sport, with a particular focus on identity.

Exploring important themes such as the geopolitics of sports events, contested identities, and ownership of sport and its impact on sporting cultures, the book presents contemporary and historical cases from around the world, including football in a divided Ireland; sport and the anti-Apartheid movement; Chinese sporting nationalism and soft power; and the role of sport media in the shaping of Catalan identity.

This is an important resource for students and researchers working in Sports Studies, Sports Journalism, Sports Management Studies, Sports Marketing, Football Studies, Sport and Identity Studies, Sociology of Sport Studies, and Cultural Studies.

chapter |6 pages

Introduction

part I|62 pages

International sport

chapter 1|14 pages

Sport, identity and constitutional crisis

Sporting politics?

chapter 2|13 pages

The globalisation of sport and its impact on national identity in England and Wales

Cricket’s new international power base

chapter 3|16 pages

Soccer, identity and sporting citizenship in Ireland

Border crossings

chapter 4|17 pages

The Kosovo football team, national symbols and identity

“A team of eleven named men”

part II|80 pages

Politics, power and sports events

chapter 5|19 pages

Undermining female athleticism in sport media

“Serena Williams demolishes fellow mum”

chapter 6|17 pages

Hypermasculinity and racist discourses in the Spanish media

The spectacularisation of radio sport programming

chapter 7|14 pages

Home and belonging in the experiences of professional basketball migrants

“I have many places which I can call home”

chapter 8|14 pages

The political use of sport

Christian Democracy, sport and the Rome Olympics

chapter 9|14 pages

The Olympic Games as a global media event

A political and social analysis of Rio 2016 through the media

part III|73 pages

Contemporary perspectives on international sport

chapter 10|14 pages

The political environment and supporter ownership in football

A comparative analysis between England and Germany

chapter 11|16 pages

Culture, tradition and change in elite level football

The English Premier League and La Liga

chapter 13|13 pages

Sport, media and identities in the era of globalisation

The role of football broadcasts in consolidating the Catalan language

chapter 14|12 pages

Legal and political borders and frontiers

Professional and non-professional sport

chapter 15|4 pages

Conclusion

Sport and power relations in the twenty-first century