|  | Feature | No.59 May 2010 |

Sport and Globalisation - Introduction
Anneliese Goslin & Darlene Kluka
Globalisation is one of the most written about issues in the 21st century. It has been studied by discipline-specific scholars for over two decades (Kluka & Goslin, under contract). As we enter the second decade of the Third Millennium, we have begun to consider sport as a catalyst in its application. For the economist, globalisation can be viewed as the surfacing of a global market. For the historian, it can be seen as the era of capitalism worldwide. For the sociologist, it can mark the incorporation of diversity and social justice into social values. For the political scientist, it may refer to gradual attrition of nation states. For the sport business manager, it may connote removing geographical boundaries from the business of sport.
Sport`s purpose involves not only entertainment blended with business, but also talent, power and innovation identified in transnational business and sport. Some of the most popular cultural products (e.g., wine, cheese, and baked goods) tend to require little culturally specific knowledge, have an emotional, sensory and intellectual knowledge appeal that transcends local concerns, and can be effectively marketed across borders, particularly via television or the internet. This can also be the case with many sports.
Competition and teamwork are inextricably linked to and in the human condition. These can have regional disparities, but globalisation tends to reinforce rather than stifle most sports. Sport has the characteristics to provide linkages between people and societies across the globe, to flow borderless and integrate seamlessly into the fabric of each person and every community as long as opportunities to participate and govern sport remain available to all segments of the population, providing both local and global involvement. The regulation of competition in sport does not have to be completely globalised. For example, tennis, golf and auto racing do not have world championships; rather, there is a series of international tournaments/races that establish an ultimate champion for the season. Other sports, such as American football and cricket, are immersed in tradition and grandiose pomp and circumstance with the Super Bowl and the struggle between one-day and multiple-day events.
The authors of this feature have focused their thoughts on issues that are global in scope. Ravizza, in his article on the use of sport with children who have been involved in war as child soldiers presents a riveting matter that humanity must find ways to deal with, as skirmishes around the globe increase because people fear that which is different.
Cavalho contends that professional sport contributes in scores of respects globally, including the possibility of professional athletes as human resources that are bought and sold as property to sport organisation owners. He begs the question of whether professional athletes have become the new “slaves” or the new “emigrants” to a country through organisation ownership.
Henry provides the feature with governance perspectives involving European sport. This region of the world has developed a model of governance that also involves governmental parliamentary laws, policies, and strategies that will shape the future of sport. He challenges the rest of the world to consider a global model for sport governance that supersedes the International Olympic Committee’s model.
Chung explores the Chinese model for elite sport and linked it to arguably the largest global sport event, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He referred to the financial model underlying successful preparation for the global sport market and speculated that the financial burden might have been too huge to maintain over long periods.
Tarasti determines the legal world of international sport competition in its principles and rules. Sport, according to the author, has led the internationalisation evolution over the past 100 years. Sport and athletes have succeeded in overcoming national borders when, for political or other reasons, they have been closed to others. He refers to the difficulty in the determination of which part of sport development was caused by globalisation and which part was caused by commercialisation, technical development, societal changes or other factors.
Klein considers the use of technology through distance education as a requirement of 21st century professionals in sport science and physical education. He contends that as the world becomes globalised, the need for distance education and other means of joining professionals together in real-time education and decision making has become a necessity.
Much of the world has evolved into the information age, as technology and communications have catapulted societies forward. The rise of sport onto the global stage in governmental and non-governmental policy has influenced sport’s position as part of a global society. As technology and communications allow us to share information in real time, sport as a link in the interconnectedness of humanity will continue to be a factor.
Globalisation will continue to be discussed, illuminated, and analysed for decades. It is a phenomenon that discerns the interconnectedness of humanity throughout the world. This interconnectedness has begun to weave cultural, economic, and political environments from two basic directions: left and right. Those approaching from the right support free markets and investments and see the world as an economic organisation. Those approaching from the left prefer a global culture based upon values of multiculturalism and democracy and see the world based upon human rights. Globalisation, as a philosophy, has far-reaching consequences. Corporations and governments can no longer operate independently or in environments where decisions and actions do not impact globally. Globalisation, as a process, leads to globalism. The notion of globalism is the institutionalisation of the philosophy of globalisation. Globalisation, when used as a process, facilitates the elimination of political and geographical expanses between groups of people. The importance of sport in globalisation, leading to globalism, is yet to be fully realised.
References
Kluka, D., & Goslin. A. (Under contract). International Sport Business Management. Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway Publishers.
Contact
Prof. Dr. Darlene Kluka
Barry University
School of Human Performance and Leisure Science
Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences
Miami, USA
e-mail: dkluka@barry.edu; eyesport@aol.com
Prof. Dr. Anneliese Goslin
Department Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences
Center for Leisure Studies
University of Pretoria,
Pretoria, South Africa
e-mail: anneliese.goslin@up.ac.za

http://www.icsspe.org/