The Contested Terrain of Sport: Sociological, Political and Policy Perspectives

Introduction

Sport, by its very nature, is a “contest” involving physical competition within rules-based structures and organisations. Yet, sport, as a cultural institution and practice, is also a contested terrain of identities, politics, and policies. While debates about whether sport and politics should mix endure, the reality is that they have always co-existed and sometimes collided. A more important question might be why ‘sport’, given its strategic relationship with other key sectors of society, including health, education, and business, has not been recognised for its inherent political nature. This may be partly due to the powerful and positive halo that surrounds and shelters sport from serious scrutiny and interrogation. In particular, it is important to consider concepts such as the Great Sport Myth (Coakley 2015) and Sporting Exceptionalism (Jackson and Dawson 2021), which underscore how sport holds a privileged and positive position in society. Consequently, it is often, for reasons unexplained and unspoken, treated as outside the rules of society, thus perpetuating the illusion that sport is not only external to politics but inherently apolitical.

However, despite the illusionary halo effect associated with sport, one only needs to look at the complex and chaotic state of the world, including the world of sport, to understand that it influences, is impacted by, and is complicit with wider social and political forces and struggles. Consider the range of interests, actors, institutions, nation-states, and corporations at play in relation to the following examples: IOC and FIFA corruption, sportswashing and human rights, the links between sport and neo-right and terrorist organisations, the saturation of sport with gambling and betting industries, the opportunities and threats posed by genetic editing and artificial intelligence (AI) for sport performance, the politics of transgender athletes, and the impact of sport on the environment. Each presents its own unique set of challenges, but collectively, they can be considered part of the wider “contested terrain” of contemporary sport.

According to Jackson and Scherer (2013),

“we can think of a contested terrain as a site of struggle not unlike a battlefield, involving key agents, ideas, and beliefs. Sometimes these struggles appear to encompass only small differences of opinions and perspectives but they can also descend into conflict, violence and even war. Ultimately, contested terrains are about who decides how society should work, moral/ethical beliefs, power and inequality.”.

(pp. 888–89)

The concept of contested terrain is certainly not new. Indeed, it has been used across a range of academic disciplines, including work/labour (Edwards 1979), education (Rizvi et al. 2006), the environment (Light and Katz 1996), indigenous identity (Conrad 1999), and ‘sport’ (Chiang and Chen 2021; Cody and Jackson 2016; Hardin et al. 2005; Harris et al. 2017; Hartmann 2000, 2008; Jackson 2013; Jackson and Kobayashi 2023; Jackson and Scherer 2013; Messner 1988; Millington and Wilson 2017; Scherer et al. 2005; Scherer and Jackson 2013; Schulenkorf et al. 2014; Skille et al. 2024; Sturm and Kerr 2022). Like all concepts, it has its limitations, but the contested terrain is more than just a strategy or vehicle with which to play devil’s advocate to provide counterarguments. Arguably, it offers a useful framework for examining complex phenomena. For example, (a) it challenges dominant and taken-for-granted assumptions and promotes the interrogation of hegemonic structures, systems, and processes; (b) it seeks to identify the key actors and stakeholders involved and when and where they conflict or choose to form alliances; (c) it enables comparisons across different cultures and national contexts as well as between the past, present, and future; and (d) it can be adapted for use in a range of diverse critical theoretical and methodological approaches. Overall, the concept of ‘contested terrain’ promotes an open approach that candidly declares that nothing is sacrosanct or off-limits. Moreover, it encourages scholars, policy makers, and citizens to ask questions amidst both the noise(s) and the silence(s) that conceal or perpetuate social inequality, discrimination, and human rights violations located within increasingly polarised political environments.

This anthology examines the complexities and contradictions emerging from the intersection of three overarching dimensions of the contested terrain of sport: sociological, political, and policy. Notably, while each chapter tends to be anchored within one of the three themes, inevitably, they are intimately interrelated. This book consists of 10 chapters, each exploring its own unique perspective on the contested terrain of sport.

The first four chapters generally focus on global, large-scale political–economic issues related to sport as a contested terrain. For example, Grix and Brannagan explore the evolving relationship between sport and authoritarianism, tracing a shift from Cold War-era regimes to contemporary ‘new’ authoritarian states. While traditional authoritarian powers like the Soviet Union leveraged elite sport for ideological and political prestige, today’s regimes—such as Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia—invest in global sport for economic gain, soft power, and international recognition. Through ownership of sports teams, sponsorships, and league involvement, these states seek to harness sport’s cultural influence. This chapter examines the motivations behind these strategies and the controversies they provoke, highlighting continuities and divergences in authoritarian engagement with sport.

In turn, De Lisio, Silk, and Hubbard examine the complex and contested nature of securitisation in cities hosting sport mega-events (SMEs). Drawing on ethnographic and community-based participatory research conducted in cooperation with sex workers in Rio de Janeiro before, during, and after two SMEs, they explore how securitisation strategies aim to sanitise urban spaces and marginalise “abject” populations. However, as the authors note, these efforts often produce uneven and negotiated outcomes. Rather than creating impermeable, sanitised cityscapes, SMEs reveal a fluid urban topography shaped by formality and informality and resistance and compliance. The findings challenge dominant narratives of SME urbanism and resonate with similar dynamics observed in other global host cities.

Next, Yang critiques the idealisation and mystification of sport and physical culture by engaging two conceptual frameworks: Jules Boykoff’s celebration capitalism and Lawrence Grossberg’s affective landscape. It examines the Olympics’ transformation into the corporatised “Disneylimpics” and introduces the concept of “affective neoliberalism” to highlight neoliberalism’s emotional and ideological dimensions. Drawing on Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation, this chapter explores the commodification of the soul following the 9/11 attacks. Through this lens, it interrogates the intensification of societal anxiety and affective isolation, concluding with reflections on the current moment and proposing ways to critically engage with sport’s socio-political entanglements.

And, in the final essay for this group, Wallace and Andrews critically explore the meanings and motivations behind sporting consumption through the lens of sneaker customisation. Drawing on interviews with 15 sneaker consumers, their essay highlights tensions between consumer creativity and commercial control. Three core contradictions emerge: sneakers as expressions of individuality versus conformity; customisation as an artistic practice versus profit-driven commodification; and emotional versus utilitarian attachments to sneakers. These tensions reveal how consumers navigate and resist the commercial narratives imposed by the sneaker industry. Ultimately, the essay shows that sneaker culture exemplifies the contested space of late capitalist consumerism, where personal meaning-making both collides with and subverts corporate influence.

The next four chapters are more directly focused on how the contemporary contested terrain of sport impacts those directly involved in sport and the emerging policies and practices that impact sport-participant experiences. Park, Sam, and Jackson examine athlete maltreatment within organised sport through the lens of a “wicked problem,” highlighting its persistent complexity despite growing attention and policy efforts. They identify three core challenges: defining maltreatment, understanding its root causes, and finding effective solutions amid embedded stakeholders and unintended consequences. By comparing maltreatment with other sporting issues like doping and match-fixing, their essay argues that valuable insights can be drawn from similarly complex problems. Ultimately, they call for an ongoing evaluation of current research and policies, urging for a more nuanced, multidimensional approach that recognises maltreatment as a deeply entangled and enduring issue in sport systems.

Extending the focus on sport and athlete health and wellbeing, Jackson, Sam, and Dawson offer a conceptual analysis of the rise of ‘wellbeing’ within global policy, politics, and culture, particularly its entanglement with sport, exercise, and physical activity. While international bodies such as the WHO and OECD champion physical activity for its wellbeing benefits, they bring into question the growing ubiquity and instrumentalization of wellbeing. In particular, the authors introduce the concept of “wellbeing washing” to describe how wellbeing is co-opted for political or commercial gain. Overall, by tracing its historical roots, exploring its neoliberal framing, and examining its manifestations in Aotearoa/New Zealand sport contexts, their essay highlights wellbeing as a contested, complex, and often contradictory terrain.

Moving from the conceptual to the empirical, Richardson, McLachlan, and McDonald explore the impact of increased opportunities for women in Australian Rules Football following the launch of the AFLW in 2017. Focusing on a senior women’s team at a community-level club in Melbourne, they draw on semi-structured interviews to examine how women navigate traditionally masculine sporting spaces. Their analysis reveals a complex mix of empowerment and disempowerment, highlighting both transformative potential and persistent gendered barriers. The authors conclude by arguing that simply expanding access is insufficient to fulfil the AFLW’s transformative promise, emphasising instead the need to address deeper cultural and structural inequalities within sport.

Reinforcing the previous chapter, Turelli, Vaz, and Kirk examine the embodied subjectivities of women in elite karate, focusing on the Spanish Olympic team. Experts in karate, referred to as ‘Karateka’, navigate a complex terrain shaped by the sexualisation and masculinisation of female athletes, negotiating femininity and masculinity to construct a distinct habitus tied to their performativity. Drawing on ethnographic and autoethnographic research, including double interviews with athletes and coaches, their study examines themes of authenticity and gendered habitus in the quest to be recognised as true warriors. Their findings highlight the contradictions and challenges women face yet also reveal moments of empowerment, agency, and resistance within a contested sporting environment.

The final two chapters offer more optimistic reflections on the positive and transformative possibilities of sport. First, Theodorakis, Georgiadis, and Hassandra examine the societal impact of the Olympic Movement, highlighting its core values of excellence, friendship, and respect. They explore Olympic education’s role in promoting ethics, life skills, and cultural values. In turn, they evaluate recent Olympic Games in terms of addressing health, gender equality, and sustainability. In particular, this chapter discusses sport’s role in social inclusion, refugee support, and substance (ab)use prevention. A key feature of the chapter is its discussion of the collaborative efforts by the WHO and IOC to tackle physical inactivity; enduring challenges regarding gender equality and climate goals are also addressed. Ultimately, the authors call for ‘actionable’ policies that promote physical activity, mass participation, and Olympic values to foster global health, peace, and sustainability.

Finally, Louis Moustakas examines how three European sport programmes conceptualise and promote social cohesion, a term that is often understood as the ‘glue’ of society but that lacks a clear definition in practice. Through a thematic analysis of interviews, discussions, observations, and documents, his findings reveal that programmes tend to adopt an individual-centred approach, focusing on personal skills, behaviours, and social relations such as tolerance and mutual help. However, the broader impact on community cohesion is left to the participants. Ultimately, he concludes that systemic barriers hinder structural approaches, prompting him to call for researchers to proactively challenge and reshape the systems behind sport-based interventions to enable more holistic, transformative practices.

This modest collection of essays is intended to highlight the conceptual merit of the concept of ‘contested terrain’ and provide an eclectic set of scholarly analyses to show how it is and can be utilised. We encourage future scholars to critique our analysis in order to refine and expand our collective understanding of the opportunities and challenges emerging from the contested terrain of sport across the dimensions of sociology, politics, and policy.