Sport and Understanding the Promise and Pitfalls of Globalization

SPORT AND UNDERSTANDING THE PROMISE AND/OR PITFALLS OF GLOBALISATION
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Sport and Understanding the Promise and/or Pitfalls of Globalisation
Modern sport is intertwined in a worldwide web of interdependency chains characterized by global flows and unequal skewed power relations. Sports are highly impactful, especially if one considers the consumption of sports events globally. Every day, people are attached to big sports events including the Champions League matches, the English Premier League, the Olympics, National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Football Association (NFL) among others. Such events are entertaining. Additionally, such events impact how individuals think about other individuals from different socioeconomic and political backgrounds. Put simply, sport has developed into a powerful tool that influences human activities such as interpersonal interactions and even perceptions of the political trends in different countries. Sports does not extend its influence only on players and their fans. Instead, the corporate world has indulged in sports activities all over the world. A tool such as influential can easily be used as a platform to gain power. This paper explores the relationship between sports and globalization and the possibility of employing sports as a tool to gain insight into globalisation trends. Drawing on the inputs of relevant academic literature and critical examination the assertion that sport offers the US a powerful analytic lens through which to understand the promise and/or pitfalls of globalisation is highly factual.
Globalisation and Sport
The concept of globalisation focuses on growth on a worldwide scale. Globalisation is a process through which economies and cultures are subjected to changes due to integration and international influence. In the contemporary cultural and economic context, globalisation does not imply only the expansion of networks for the exchange of goods and services (Yu-Che & Tai-Shen, 2018). Instead, the concept encompasses even ideas in objectives such as pursuance and management of terrorist activities. Technologies, blending cultures, and economics all encompass the growth in globalisation. Contemporarily, the advancements that the world is witnessing in technology impact the speed and efficiency of human interactions.
One of the areas in which such interactions are prominent is a sport. People are growing increasingly engaged with one another globally due to the influence of sport. Take for instance football. In 2018, it was established that more than 43% of the world’s population identified themselves as fans of football. Still, more than 250 million people noted that they play the game consistently on either an abrupt or organised basis (Premier League, 2021). With an estimated 4 billion fans globally, football is the most popular sport and it remains among the prospects that trigger human integration on a global scale. Every footballing event attracts more people than most can believe. The 2018 FIFA world cup in Russia attracted more than 7.7 million visiting fans. A similar trend is mirrored through other hosts including South Africa, Brazil, the US, the UK, and Korea among other hosts (Fuc...