Sport and Politics
Modern sports are to a large extent a product of the British/English class system
Rugby was part of an upper-class education system designed to produce the elite managers of the
British Empire
Sport and Politics
Cricket with its five-day matches was the sport par excellence of the aristocracy
The gentlemen/players division was a physical manifestation of this origin
Polo was for those with enough money to afford a horse
Sport and Politics
Leisurely sports such as golf were for those with significant amounts of leisure time at their disposal
Even football (the people’s game?) was an alliance between local businessmen and (male) workers
Sport and Politics
To this day which sport you play says something about your class origins/ aspirations
Sport has long been an arena for the reproduction of patriarchal values and gender discrimination remains strong
Sport and Politics
There is a great deal of research to show that male and female sportspersons are treated differently in the media
Football is the last bastion of homophobia in British society
Sport and Politics
It has also long been an arena where notions of racial superiority have been mobilised (and contested)
The St Louis Olympics
The Berlin Olympics
The Mexico Olympics
Sport and Politics
Sport has always been political with a small “p” as a place where class, gender and race hierarchies are staged, negotiated and contested
Sport and Politics
The State has always been interested in sport as a way of preventing idleness and disorder
Nineteenth-century movements such as the Turners in Germany or the
Sokols in the Czech part of the Austro-
Hungarian Empire saw sport as a means of maintaining a war-ready male population
Politics and Sport
On a different level, high-level sport is routinely appropriated by official politics
This occurs on a domestic level
Prime Ministers/Members of Royalty attend Cup Finals, Wimbledon Finals etc
Politics and Sport
It also occurs routinely on an international level
Hosting an international event is seen as an opportunity to present the
“nation” on an international stage
The scale of investment in such events is huge
Politics and Sport
Such events invariably take the form of “media events”
Television coverage is a key element of the overall design
This coverage is driven by the
“national agenda” (Barcelona
Olympics)
Politics and Sport
While political statements by athletes
(however small scale) are invariably sanctioned, political statements by organisers are tolerated:
Parading the flag at the Salt Lake
Winter Olympics
Politics and Sport
Statements by “peripheral” groups attract ferocious criticism
The Catalan advert for the Barcelona
Olympics
Politics and Sport
Sport is inherently political due to its origins and ongoing role in the class structure of the country where it is practised
High-level sport is routinely appropriated for high-level statepolitical ends
Politics and Sport
Contestation and subversion are always possible
The criticism and sometimes sanctions
(bans from future participation) these actions attract highlight the seriousness of the stakes