Suchergebnisse

This article discusses the cultural insignificance of football in Europe despite the receptiveness of Europeans to American popular culture in general. It is argued that this anomaly can be explained by a sociohistorical perspective on the differential popularization of sports and the changing social structure in which sports are being diffused. In doing so, it is shown that football only entered the European sport space after 1980 and that the attempts by the National Football League to launch football as a spectator sport will fail without a basic foundation at a grassroots level.

Korfball contre basket-ball : les liens entre la fabrication des règles et la diffusion Dans cet article, l'auteur se demande pourquoi, bien que ces deux sports soient étroitement liés et fortement comparables, le korfball est resté un sport local, soumis à la moquerie et à la dérision dans son pays d'origine, alors que le basketball a connu un essor mondial et prestigieux qui fascine les populations. En répondant à la question, cette étude a l'intention de donner une vision plus approfondie de la relation entre les règles fondamentales des sports et leurs dissémination et signification différentielles. On en conclut que les lois ont leur importance mais ne déterminent pas la diffusion d'un sport. Le peuple s'en charge. Et le contexte social aussi. Ainsi, les explications concernant les différences de diffusion des sports ne doivent pas être cherchées dans leurs propriétés intrinsèques statiques, mais dans leurs caractéristiques sociales dynamiques.

Résumé Bien que le développement des arts mar- tiaux au XX e siècle constitue un exemple frappant de « sportivisation » au sens de Norbert Elias, l'essor des « combats en cage » dans les années 1990 peut être vu comme une tendance opposée, une forme de dé-sportivisation. Comme le montre l'analyse de ces combats, la « sportivisation » comme la « dé-sportivisation » dépendent avant tout des intérêts des organisateurs, et plus particulièrement de la manière dont ils prennent en compte les demandes des combattants, des spectateurs ou des téléspectateurs. Quand un nouveau marché de l'audiovisuel, non régulé, a fait son apparition dans les années 1990 aux États-Unis avec la télévision pay-per-view , les entreprises de médias ont profité de l'occasion pour commercialiser les combats illégitimes, qui visaient des téléspectateurs moins intéressés par les spécificités d'un sport ou d'un jeu que par l'excitation antinomique provoquée par la transgression des règles et des conventions de la vie quotidienne. L'émergence des combats en cage montre que les nouveaux marchés de l'audiovisuel ont constitué un facteur important pour l'évolution des spectacles sportifs et des formes de divertissement proches du sport. Elle témoigne également du fait que la régulation politique joue un rôle essentiel dans les changements que ces nouveaux marchés pourraient induire. La pression publique a finalement conduit à la disparition des combats en cage sur les principales chaînes américaines de télévision câblée. En réponse à cette régulation, différentes initiatives ont cherché une nouvelle légitimité des combats, processus qui a récemment transformé les tournois de combats en cage en « arts martiaux mixtes ».

On the basis of an empirical analysis of the emergence, spread and transformation of No Holds Barred fighting contests during the 1990s, we argue that Norbert Elias's model of sportization represents a fruitful but not sufficiently differentiated framework for understanding the recent development of combat sports and fighting contests. Although the martial arts in the 20th century provide striking examples of processes of sportization and para-sportization, the rise of No Holds Barred events in the 1990s represented an opposing trend, a process of de-sportization . The analysis of No Holds Barred contests demonstrates that both sportization and de-sportization trends depend primarily on the interests of the organizers, and in particular on the degree to which they rely on the perspectives of practitioners, spectators, or viewers. The decisive factor for the predominance of the latter perspective was the formation of a new and poorly regulated market for visual material, which emerged with pay-per-view television. This allowed media entrepreneurs to commercialize non-sanctioned events, which depend primarily on the demands and fantasies of viewers who are less interested in the specifics of particular sports or games than in the antinomian excitement produced by the transgression of the rules and conventions of ordinary life. The case of No Holds Barred fighting thus suggests that new markets for visual material are likely to become an important factor in the development of spectator sports and sport-like forms of entertainment. It also suggests that regulatory regimes are an essential feature for the actual outcome of the changes that these new markets may bring about. Public pressure eventually led to the disappearance of No Holds Barred events from the major US cable television networks and from the full contact fighting scene in most Western European countries. In response, various initiatives worked towards a re-sportization of the matches, a process that has led to the transformation of No Holds Barred tournaments into Mixed Martial Arts matches.

WADA is a hybrid public–private agency that leads the global fight against doping. This chapter explores why and how this agency developed into an institution that receives support from sports organizations and governments worldwide. Despite initial scepticism about its ability to overcome the ineffectiveness of anti-doping policies prior to its foundation in 1999, WADA quickly grew into a broadly trusted and well-respected organization. It successfully developed a globally harmonized anti-doping system that reinforced the credibility of international sports competitions and the legitimacy of elite sport policies. From its inception, it had a distinct identity as a neutral, impartial and objective standard setter and referee agent in a morally challenging organizational field. Nonetheless, being relatively young, WADA remains a vulnerable institution. It must continuously take an independent position with regard to partial interests of sporting and public authorities that are responsible for WADA's funding and governance. This requires institutional leadership that the organization cannot always offer, as recent doping affairs show.

WADA is a hybrid public–private agency that leads the global fight against doping. This chapter explores why and how this agency developed into an institution that receives support from sports organizations and governments worldwide. Despite initial scepticism about its ability to overcome the ineffectiveness of anti-doping policies prior to its foundation in 1999, WADA quickly grew into a broadly trusted and well-respected organization. It successfully developed a globally harmonized anti-doping system that reinforced the credibility of international sports competitions and the legitimacy of elite sport policies. From its inception, it had a distinct identity as a neutral, impartial and objective standard setter and referee agent in a morally challenging organizational field. Nonetheless, being relatively young, WADA remains a vulnerable institution. It must continuously take an independent position with regard to partial interests of sporting and public authorities that are responsible for WADA's funding and governance. This requires institutional leadership that the organization cannot always offer, as recent doping affairs show.

A broad agenda with societal urgency — From improving children's learning performances to delaying the onset of Alzheimer's disease. From productive employees to playing football to counteract radicalisation. From including the disabled to economic export product. Sport can make a positive contribution to dealing with social, cultural and healthcare issues more effectively and can stimulate both personal and economic growth. Two conditions must be satisfied if these contributions are to be realised in a structural, sustainable and successful manner. One: all parties involved must collaborate to realise the evidence-based added value of sport in practice. Two: politicians, industry, healthcare and health insurers must recognise that it is in everybody's interest that sport acquires this key role.