Introduction

Nationalism is a concept dominated by politics. Its development is reinforced by economic, cultural, linguistic and/or other kinds of national aspirations; hence these less-dominant elements are assigned an auxiliary function in the consolidation of national consciousness. ¹ Sport is one of these national aspirations. Nationalism and sport are closely linked by their political natures. Over the past century, the Olympics and other international and regional sports events have fostered an active interweaving of sport, politics and nationalism. The Bodyline series between Australia and England in the 1930s, the 1956 Olympic boycott over the ‘Two Chinas Issue’, the 1972 Munich massacre, the Olympic boycotts during the Cold War, the Free Tibet Campaign before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the territory dispute between South Korea and Japan that led to political dissonance at the 2012 London Olympic Games, and a host of other examples indicate that sport has never escaped its political function, which is firmly entwined with nationalism. Sport itself can help consolidate national identity and promote nationalism. Cronin has stated, ‘Sport is, and always has been, inextricably linked to the forces of nationalism and identity… It is a form of national popular culture, a forum for the creation, expression or maintenance of senses and ideals of identity, a form of business, and a central point of focus for groups within and outside any given society or nation’. ² Sport provides ‘one of the few occasions when large, complex, impersonal and functionally bonded units can unite as a whole’. ³ By cheering for their national squad, playing or talking about their traditional sport or national sport, people who belong to different ethnic or religious groups, or who come from different social classes and regions within the nation state, become bound together and endowed with a collective identity. This results in the promotion of national consciousness and patriotism.