Examining International Relations In The Realm Of Sports in History

Although the exact origins of the connection between sport and international relations remain obscure, all cultures have participated in the course of history in different physical contests that fostered cultural exchange and contributed to the political discourse of their citizens. The ancient Egyptians swam, course, wrestled and played with balls. The ancient Greeks held large sports festivals, including the Olympic Games, which attracted the attention of athletes from all over the ancient world. Two of the earliest "nations" to engage their athletes in sport competitions, were the Greeks and Romans. They participated in various sporting events such as chariot races, or throwing the javelin, often relying on the participation of animals, or the use of mechanical devices, a tradition continued into modern times in sports such as dog racing, horse racing , and shooting.

During the Middle Ages, the cultural isolation imposed by the feudal system and religious doctrine that opposes the use of the body for play hampered the development of organized sport in the Western world. For many centuries, contests between knights in tournaments that emphasized military capabilities were among the only forms approved, public sports. During the Renaissance and Enlightenment, games and exercise attained renewed popularity. As had happened in ancient times, however, political activity and social class circumscribed. Sports that required wealth or leisure, such as polo or falconry, were the province of the upper classes, the rich nations, while inexpensive, massed sports, such as soccer, took root among ordinary people and underdeveloped countries.

The late 19th century saw a growing belief in sport as useful recreation and as a means of interconnection between people and nations, while in the industrialized societies equipment was standardized, local and national organizations have been established to govern the game , and a doctrine of character-building declared sports to be a necessary effort for men. The rebirth of the Olympics in 1896 and flowering American intercollegiate athletic system boosted many forms of amateur sport, or not paid at the same time that professional sports (like baseball, boxing, running and cycling) has attracted a large number of spectators. Sports that were traditionally played only in certain countries has become a legislative act or general acceptance, national sports, like baseball in the United States, bullfighting in Spain and Mexico, cricket in England, and ice hockey in Canada.

During the 20 th century, the sport has taken on an increasingly international flavor to the world championships for individual sports, like soccer's World Cup, large-scale international meets, such as the Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games , were opened. The sport has therefore become increasingly politicized, as the boycott of the 1980 Moscow games by Western nations has shown, or the retaliatory boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles games by Soviet-bloc nations, an exchange caused by Soviet actions in Afghanistan.

Despite the difficulties that rose on the past, sporting events are now considered a great opportunity for individual countries to promote their cultures, politics and trade. The new terms of globalization and international relations has entered the stage of economic evolution and affected sport policy, regulations, communication and society as a whole, by the mass acceptance of sport as a dominant tool for international negotiations and cultural exchanges....