ABSTRACT
Sport occupies a central position in contemporary western culture. Commercial sport is a multi-billion pound industry, but at the same time a pursuit which holds signifi cant meaning in the lives of individuals. In 1986, John Hargreaves stated that ‘sport stimulates young men to dream of escape from boredom and deprivation. It is eulogized by educators, philanthropists and social reformers, appropriated by politicians and promoted by the modern state’ (Hargreaves 1986: 1).
