ABSTRACT
At the international level, sport continues to be used for “soft power” diplomacy between nations, often leading to positive outcomes, but it is also vulnerable to political exploitation. Indeed, the extent to which political leaders will go to use sport for their own purposes was highlighted once again during the Federation Internationale de Football Association World Cup Finals in 2018. Ever since George Orwell stated his famously misanthropic view that international sport is “mimic warfare” that encourages “orgies of hatred,” there has been fierce debate about the extent to which the sports media promotes nationalism and xenophobia. Premier League Productions, for example, broadcasts to over 185 territories, where the English Premier League is often much more popular than domestic football. There is also the related issue of whether the decline of local journalism has led to a decline in the reinforcement of local identities and a sense of community.
