ulster.ac.uk Sport & Politics David Hassan in a Complex World Professor of Sport Policy & Management
ulster.ac.uk Sport & Politics David Hassan Professor of Sport Policy & Management in a Complex World
Context Unprecedented period of change within world sport Convergence of new nation-states with an increasingly networked sports governance model leading to the virtual privatisation of world sport Why is this happening? What are the consequences of this and how complicit are those engaged in the management of sport?
Theoretical Explanations Use of sport to assist a national drive towards maturation (Rostow) Hosting major sporting events represents an act of resistance againstWestern principles and practices (Gramsci) Concerns the realignment of anycore/periphery relationships that may persist (Wallerstein) Rostow WallersteinGramsci
Renegotiating Core/ Periphery Relations (Wallerstein) Sport has been important in the maintenance of core/ periphery relations but can also challenge them Semi-peripheral and peripheral States are now seeking a share of sporting equity Very foundations of the established core begin to erode, contributing to a systemic crisis
Bejing 2008 Olympic Games
Russia 2014 Winter Olympic Games
Equatorial Guinea 2015 Africa Cup Of Nations
Azerbaijan 2015 European Games
Belarus 2014 World Ice Hockey Championship
Uganda 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championship
Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup
Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup
Governance of Sport Accountability is key in avoiding a concentration of power Self-governing hierarchic networks are increasingly subjected to stakeholder input Less democracy is sometimes better for organising a World Cup (FIFA GS Jerome Valcke) The future of sport appears to be in those settings where things happen unquestionably
The Middle East Bahrain, Qatar and UAE = combined populations of 12.7 m UAE alone has a GDP of $402.3 bn; Combined the GDP of Bahrain, Qatar and UAE would rank it in the Top 20 Countries in the world UAE, a population of 9m but an indigenous population of < 1 m, critical in the context of Emiratisation
Qatar
Treatment of migrant workers in advance of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Formula 1 dispute with Bahrain World Handball Championships 2015 Lack of sustained growth of sport in Qatar
Geo-Political Tensions and Sport The role of the FIA in supporting the Bahrain minority government The candidacy of Jordans Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein for FIFA Presidency The regional rivalry between GCC countries through sport – UAE and Qatar
ulster.ac.uk Thank you