SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS

COURSE OUTLINE
UNIT 1 – Introduction
Definitions
➢ Sports
➢ Sociology
➢ Sports Sociology
➢ Current Status of Sociology of Sports

UNIT 2 – Changing phase of Sports Through History.

UNIT 3 – Terminologies
➢ Play, Game and Sports: their characteristics, similarities and differences.

UNIT 4 – Sports Institutions

➢ Sports and the economy.
➢ Sports and the media.
➢ Sports and politics.
➢ Sports and religion.

UNIT 5 – Gender and Sports.

➢ Masculinity and feminism.

Multiple choice questions and review questions.

Course Lecturers:
Prof. S. O. Aibueku.
Abayomi Celina (Miss).

1
UNIT 1 – INTRODUCTION

SPORTS

Oxford Dictionary defines sport as “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an
individual or a team competes against another or others for entertainment”.

Dictionary.com defines sport as “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess. It goes on
to specifically mention racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, etc.

Most people, if not all have experienced sport personally, as athletes, spectators or both. Most
are probably familiar with the physical and emotional experiences of playing sports and may
know the rules and strategies used in certain sports. Some even follow the lives of high-profile
athletes in their institutions or in a national sports scene. Most have also watched sports, read
about it and participated in discussions about it. The aim of this course however, is to go beyond
the scores, statistics and personas in sports and to focus on the meaning associated with sports
– the process through which sports becomes part of the social and cultural worlds we live in; the
worlds that are created by individuals and their actions, relationships and their ways of life.
People who study sports in society are concerned with the deeper meanings and stories
associated with sports in different cultures or ways of life that people create. This course will help
to develop an understanding of (1) the cultures and societies in which sports exists; (2) the social
worlds that are created around sports; and (3) the experiences of individuals and groups
associated with sports. This course will also help one better manage and/or plan a situation,
programme or event.

SOCIOLOGY
Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of
human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies and
how people interact within these contexts. Since all human behavior is social, the subject matter
of sociology ranges from the intimate family to the hostile mob; from organized crime to religious
traditions; from the divisions of race, gender and social class to the shared beliefs of a common
culture. (21st century careers with an undergraduate degree in sociology, 2014)

2
SPORTS SOCIOLOGY
The sociology of sport, also referred to as sport sociology, is the study of the relationship between
sport and society. It examines how culture and values influence sport, how sport influences
culture and values, and the relationship between sport and the major social spheres of life such
as the media, politics, the economy, religion, race, gender and youth.

The Importance of Studying The Sociology of Sport

Sport, at a social, recreational or competitive elite level, can be considered as a microcosm, or
small-scale version, of society. The same social issues that exist in larger society also exist in sport.
These social issues, which can be seen in larger society and also in sport, are the concepts of
values, race, gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, youth, politics, religion and economics. When we
consider sport as a microcosm of society and/or we determine that sport teams mirror society,
we see an important likeness between the two and must thus engage with social issues such as
racism, discrimination, inequalities and homophobia that are revealed in sport and society. The
sociology of sport uses essential and conflicting approaches that force us to explore alternative
ways of viewing the place and organisation of sport in our society and how issues and problems
presented by sport in society affect individuals.

Studying The Sociology of Sport

Studying sport as a social phenomenon leads to research questions such as: Why are some sports
popular in one society but not another? Why are sporting events and sport teams organised in
different ways from one society to the next? How is sport connected with other parts of society,
such as the family, religion, education, government, the economy and the media? Who sponsors
sport, and for which reasons? In summary, sport is an important part of culture, which differs
from place to place and generation to generation. How sport is defined, organised and integrated
into social life varies from one society to another. This means that to understand sport in its
entirety we must view it as an aspect of the social world that is created in a particular social
context. Sociology provides us with tools that help us to view and understand sport as an aspect
of the social world that is created in a particular social context as we discuss major issues related
to sport in society.

3
Why Study Sport In Society?
There are several reasons why it is necessary to study the important part that sport plays in a
society. The three most important reasons are the following:
• Sport is a part of people’s lives.

• Sport is connected with important ideas and meanings in life.

• Sport is connected to major spheres of social life.

CURRENT STATUS OF SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS

There are now four English language journals devoted specifically to the sociology of sport—the
International Review for the Sociology of Sport (now in its 40th year of continuous publication,
making it older than many sociology journals) and the Journal of Sport and Social Issues are
published by Sage in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively; the Sociology of
Sport Journal is published by Human Kinetics in the United States and Sport in Society is published
by Taylor & Francis in the United Kingdom. Sociology of sport journals are published in other
languages (e.g., Japanese), and sociology of sport research regularly appears in various social
sciences, sociology, and physical education journals. There are now probably 40 to 50 books
published in English each year relating to the sociology of sport, and several dozen textbooks and
readers are available in English.

In addition to the International Sociology of Sport Association, there are major regional
organizations such as the European Sociology of Sport Association, the North American Society
for the Sociology of Sport, and the Société de Sociologie du Sport de Langue Française. There are
also national associations in several countries, including Japan and Korea, and interest in the
sociology of sport is growing in places such as China and South America. In some countries,
sociology of sport is a branch of the national sociological and/or physical education association.
The sociology of sport associations hold annual conferences, and national and regional
sociological associations frequently organize conference sessions on the sociology of sport.

This is by way of establishing that the sociology of sport is now a well-established subdiscipline,
producing a great deal of research each year. Leading theorists such as Norbert Elias and Pierre
Bourdieu considered sport a legitimate field of study; leading publishers of sociological books and
journals recognize the sociology of sport as a legitimate (and profitable) field of study;
4
dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks of sociology such as this one now often include the
sociology of sport; and national and international sociological associations include the sociology
of sport at their annual conferences. Clearly, a degree of “respect” has been won, and yet
Maguire and Young (2002) recently pointed out that:

“Over the past decade, despite some exceptions, sociologists have failed to
emancipate themselves from the discipline’s dominant value system in which
primacy is given to work and the other so-called “serious” aspects of society.
[Sport] is confined to the “non-serious” sphere. Rarely, if ever, is discussion of
sport provided in introductory sociology texts.” (P. 7)

Making predictions about the future is always risky, and the best that can be achieved is to
attempt to “divine” the future from current events. Although the types of research outlined
previously are continuing, there is also evidence that some changes are occurring. For example,
there appears to be an increasing level of theoretical and methodological sophistication in
analyses of the following:

❖ Sport and globalization: There are an increasing number of studies of the local-global
nexus and an emerging area of research deals with sport and social development in
developing nations.
❖ Sport and social class: This has reemerged as an area of study, employing both qualitative
and quantitative data and theoretical approaches that are shedding new light on the
relationship.
❖ Community studies: These are beginning to explore issues of sport and social capital, and
to compare and contrast Bourdieu and Putnam in their approaches to the issue of
community.
❖ Sport and identity issues. These are being problematized and theorized in new and
interesting ways.
❖ Race and ethnic relations: Recent studies employing critical race theory and postcolonial
theory suggest potential theoretical breakthroughs.
❖ Democratization studies: Issues of participation in sport, and barriers to participation, are
being examined again in terms of, for example, social inclusion/exclusion.
❖ Sport media studies: In addition to ongoing content and textual analyses, there are an
increasing number of audience and production studies.
❖ Sport spectators: There has been a reemergence of interest in spectators, using both
survey and ethnographic methods.

5
UNIT 2 – CHANGING PHASE OF SPORTS THROUGH HISTORY
The documented history of sports goes back at least 3,000 years. In the beginning, sports often
involved the preparation for war or training as a hunter, which explains why so many early games
involved the throwing of spears, stakes, and rocks, and sparring one-on-one with opponents.
With the first Olympic Games in 776 BC—which included events such as foot and chariot races,
wrestling, jumping, and discus and javelin throwing—the Ancient Greeks introduced formal
sports to the world.

The history of sports, as part of the general history that studies the phenomenon of sports has
gradually grown into a scientific discipline. A variety of scientific and research papers have led to
the formation of a sufficiently complex and comprehensive system of knowledge of the history
of sports, so that today it is constituted as an independent educational and scientific discipline
that is taught at several universities around the world. However, in addition to several new
communication technologies of the 21st century, access to current scientific information on the
history of sports for various reasons is not provided equally and adequately to all interested
researchers.

The Studies of the History of Sports monograph has grown out of a desire to unite part of the
papers by various authors as possible additional literature for the researchers in the field of the
history of sports. It can be used by the students of the university where the phenomenon of
sports is studied, by athletes, coaches and all those interested in sports as a sociohistorical
phenomenon. Study of the history of sport can teach lessons about social changes and about the
nature of sport itself, as sport seems involved in the development of basic human skills.

The biggest change, however, must come from the way in which most/every segment of the
population is scouted for athletic talent. 100 years ago, most people didn’t get much of a chance
to play sports, no matter how talented they might have been, because they needed to work —
starting in their mid-teens, if not earlier. Only the rich could really afford to put serious time into
sport. This put a serious cap on the sort of talent that made its way into sports. Nowadays, talent
is sifted from childhood forward, and the most talented rise into specialized training very early.

We also understand so much more in terms of diet and nutrition than we did even 20 years ago.
We better understand what sort of strength is beneficial for which sport — even down to which
position or play style in which sport. We understand how to achieve those specific strengths while
avoiding injury better than ever, and we understand how to support this training with nutrition
and rest.

Finally, in just about every sport played professionally, the rules have moved gradually but surely
to encourage a reduction of violence and injury. Moves and plays and styles have been penalized,
and then banned, in just about every major sport.

6
UNIT 4 – SPORTS INSTITUTIONS
i. Sports and the economy.
Business people spend a great deal of money on sports, including financial contributions,
advertising associations as well as ownership of some professional teams. Many companies also
sponsor local professional and college sports teams. Cities spend millions of dollars on sport
stadiums for the exclusive use of major and minor league professional teams. The city
government and corporate leaders claim that such arrangements are beneficial to the local
economy by adding jobs and bringing tourist dollars. However, the jobs created and supported
by a new professional sports arena are low paying seasonal service sector jobs.

Sport has been used throughout history as a form of public entertainment. However, sport has
never been as profitable or commercialized as it is today. Sport as a sector contributes
significantly to the economy of South Africa and attracts tourists. According to research, in 2011
sport contributed about USD180 billion to the global tourism industry, representing an 18
percent contribution to global tourism and an 8 percent increase in growth since 2006. South
Africa has also benefited from this trend and has successfully hosted three World Cup events –
the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2003 Cricket World Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup – amongst
other major international sporting events. The 2010 FIFA World cup alone contributed over R55
billion to the South African economy and created over 400,000 jobs. Sporting events today are
evaluated in terms of gate receipts and revenues from the sale of concessions, licensing fees,
merchandise, media rights and website hits. Corporate interests influence team colours, uniform
designs, the scheduling of events, how the media covers events, and even what announcers say
during coverage.

ii. Sports and the media.

Media spends a great deal of its resources on sports. Major newspapers dedicate at least a
quarter of its pages to sport. The sports columnist and reporter staffs are as large as the news
staffs of many major newspapers. Television and radio sports commentators achieve a high level
of notoriety beyond the sports world such as Howard Cosell, John Madden and Frank Gifford.
ESPN, ESPN2 the Golf Channel and Sports Channel are cable television networks dedicated to
sports programming.

7
The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa made R19.264 million through the sale of television rights.
Overall, the 2010 FIFA World Cup accounted for 87 percent of FIFA’s total revenue. Television
networks and stations pay billions of rands for the rights to televise major games and events. The
National Broadcasting Station (NBS), an American commercial broadcast television and radio
network, paid the international Olympic Committee (IOC) $1.181 billion for the rights to the 2012
Olympic Games. Similarly, the broadcaster SuperSport won the rights to broadcast the 2014 and
2016 Olympic Games in South Africa and 43 sub-Saharan nations on the continent. SuperSport
acquired broadcasting rights on satellite pay-television, the Internet and mobile for South Africa
and sub-Saharan Africa, which includes populous nations such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Tanzania, among others. Broadcasting rights revenues,
the biggest source of income for the IOC, have already raked in more than R32 billion for 2014 to
2016, with some territories still to be decided.
Mega-sporting events have become dependent on the media and would not be as widely
followed or watched without it. The images and messages presented in the media coverage of
these sporting events communicate certain themes and ideas that influence how people see and
think about sport and social life. Themes that are presented in media coverage are, to name a
few, success, achievement and triumph. Hence, Vodacom sponsors three top soccer teams in
South Africa: Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Bloemfontein Celtic. This symbolizes Vodacom’s
success and triumph as a brand.

Similarly, consumers who are soccer fans or who follow these soccer teams are more tempted to
buy into Vodacom products as the company is associated with winning teams. The consumer will
also feel like a winner for being part of South Africa’s leading cellular network. In addition,
satellite technology has made it possible for the images and messages associated with a single
competitive event to be witnessed by billions of people simultaneously. In the process, athletes
become global entertainer-celebrities, and the corporations that sponsor mediated sport – sport
that is promoted and covered by different media channels such as TV, the Internet, radio and
newspapers – imprint their logos in people’s minds and promote a lifestyle based on product
consumption. The reason for this is that these logos become associated with a famous sport star
and/or associated with one’s favourite sporting event. In turn, a conclusion is made that this logo,
brand and/or sporting event is automatically the best, because one’s favourite sport star’s name
is associated with it. The future direction and success of varsity, professional or Olympic sport

8
has been paved by the broadcast media. However, the manner in which all forms of the media
inform, interpret, create drama, and establish particular ideas about sport and society must be
realized and examined. For example, the media provides considerable knowledge about sport,
and the ways in which the media choose to characterise or emphasize certain aspects of sport
contribute to the mindset of individuals in society.

The media defines which sporting activities are important or require the most skill, as well as the
importance of sport; interprets concepts such as the athletic body, femininity and masculinity;
and creates sport heroes and anti-heroes. The media has promoted sport as a product and the
athlete as an entertainer. There is no doubt that sport provides a great deal of enjoyment for the
participants and spectators; however, the value of sport, how that value affects our culture and
the role that power plays in the representation of sport by the media cannot be overlooked.

iii. Sports and politics.

Despite frequent complaints about mixing sport and politics, most people around the globe give
no second thought to displaying national flags and playing national anthems at sporting events,
and some may quickly reject athletes and other spectators who don’t share their views and
feelings about the flag and the anthem. When it comes to politics in sport, the display of flags
and the playing of national anthems have raised controversy at the Olympics and other
international competitions, because of the interpretation that such displays promote political
ideologies. Various theories, however, propose how sport and politics use each other.

Although countries use sport to enhance their image and power or the image of their leaders,
sport has also been used as a medium to unite and bring about peace. South African state elites
rather ingeniously saw sport and sport mega-events to unite a divided society and provide a focus
for national identity and to pursue the much-vaunted national agenda of racial reconciliation.
The process of a democratic transition from the apartheid regime to inclusive democracy is seen
as an important project of the ‘rainbow nation’. Affirmative action was introduced to counter
the effects of apartheid and ensure that qualified people from designated groups have equal
opportunities in the workplace.

Sport does offer a setting for national pride and unity but at the same time raises questions about
issues of power, particularly regarding the selection of athletes for international competition and

9
the control of sport events. People in many societies link sport to feelings of national pride and a
sense of national identity. These events allow spectators at sporting events and television
audiences to experience widely shared feelings and to reaffirm their sense of national identity.

Additionally, the local and national governments develop exclusive laws to protect the interests
of sports teams. These special laws include anti-trust protection, tax exceptions and low interest
loans.

iv. Sports and religion.

Athletes performing religious rituals (for example, stopping to pray as they step onto the field)
are becoming increasingly prevalent at sport events. Athletes in some cultures have become
increasingly likely to display religious beliefs as they play sport, and even to define their
participation in religious terms. Not only do churches sponsor leagues, but athletes themselves
publicly profess and promote religious beliefs. Organisations for Christian athletes in particular
have been established for such purpose (e.g. Athletes in Action). Just as family schedules have
been altered by participation in sport, religious services have been changed to accommodate
practitioners so that the start of a contest is not missed. College and professional athletes often
openly engage in religious practices or rituals before, during, or after a contest. Sports fans go to
outrageous lengths, wearing lucky jerseys or religiously watching every game to prove their
loyalty for their teams. There have been claims that the majority of preaching about Christian
faith now comes from televised sports and entertainment instead of inside churches. Religion
has become overwhelmingly prominent in sports; it may even be appearing more in people’s
lives from watching football games than attending church services.

10
UNIT 5 – GENDER AND SPORTS.
Gender and gender relations are a main topic in the sociology of sport. It is important to explain
why most sports around the world have been defined as men’s activities, why half the population
of the world was generally excluded or discouraged from participating in sport through most of
the 20th century and why there have been such major changes in women’s participation since
the mid-1970s. In this section, the focus will be on trying to understand the relationship between
sport and popular beliefs about masculinity and femininity. When people talk about gender
relations and sport, they usually focus on issues related to fairness, equity, ideology and culture.

Masculinity Vs Feminism
The single most dramatic change in sport in the world over the past generation has been the
increased participation of girls and women in sport. The history of women’s involvement in sport
tells a story of opposition and oppression. At the first Olympic Games in 776 BC, women were
barred from public events. Sources suggest that women, prohibited from entering the Olympic
Games, held their own games at Olympia. In the ideology of muscular Christianity, Baron Pierre
de Coubertin perceived the Games to be a celebration of male prowess in which there was no
room for the “indecency, ugliness and impropriety of women [because] women engaging in
strenuous activities were destroying their feminine charm and leading to the down-fall and
degradation of sport”. Only eleven (11) women competed in the summer Olympic Games in Paris
in 1900, compared with one thousand, three hundred and nineteen (1,319) men. Despite an
increase in the numbers of women entering elite sport, women have always participated in fewer
events, appropriated by the male-dominated International Olympic Committee that only
approved of the 3000m race and marathon for women in 1984. In the 1920s, the female body
became a marketable commodity and female Olympic champions endorsed and advertised
products, projecting femininity, health, vitality and sexuality. Despite female champions’ athletic
excellence, the media wanted to present them in the cultural ideal of womanhood and
femininity. Female athletes are often stereotyped as sex symbols, whereas a more muscular body
is perceived to be unnatural and ‘butch’.
The issue of equity in gender and sport also relates to national priorities, access to resources,
budget cutbacks and priorities, females in professional sport vocations, emphasis on ‘cosmetic
fitness,’ media presentation of sporting females, and the limited coverage and trivialization of
female sport. Girls are also cast in the role of glamourizing competitive male sport by acting as

11
cheerleaders or pom-pom girls. The marginalization of female sport is, however, linked to the
process of cultural production, ideology and media presentation. The relatively high political
profile of women and the movement for equity in political debates, which is somewhat absent in
media debates and intellectual research, outlines and reflects the local male orientation among
sport leaders and decision-makers. Women’s participation in sport and leisure has been
restricted, marginalized, under-reported and mediated to reproduce male stereotyped versions
of feminine sporting bodies. Female sport is seldom televised in prime-time viewing, which
results in women being socialized to a large extent (by their sport-loving husbands, male friends
or sons) in becoming active supporters of prominent male sports such as rugby, cricket and
soccer. The main obstacles that women face in their sports participation or that cause them to
drop out of sports participation are ideological (their role as wife and mother and gender
discrimination), structural (the lack of user-friendly facilities, transport and sponsorship) and
environmental (unsafe travelling or training conditions). Women of colour also cite the absence
of role models because female sports stars are predominantly white.

The under-representation of women in all aspects and at all levels of sport – be it at the level of
participants, decision-makers, officials or coaches, and national role-players – should be
recognised in order to address cultural and socio-economic problems as well as the lack of
recognition and funding. However, despite resistance in some countries, girls and women around
the world now participate in a variety of school, community and sport club programmes, which
did not exist 35 years ago.

The Feminist Theory

The feminist theory is based on the assumption that knowledge about social life requires an
understanding of gender and gender relations. This theory has grown out of a general
dissatisfaction and frustration that intellectual traditions base knowledge on the values,
experiences and insights of men and ignore or devalue those of women. Social life is regarded as
pervasively gendered in a patriarchal, or male-dominated, world. Sport, in turn, is regarded as a
set of gendered activities based on masculine values and experiences. The widely accepted norms
and the celebration of strong, aggressive and tough male athletes exclude women, who are
expected to display femininity and look beautiful in sports like tennis and gymnastics or fill caring
and supportive roles. Feminists are interested in researching how sport reproduces patriarchy

12
through physicality, sexuality and the body, how women are (mis)represented in media coverage
of sport and how women can use strategies to resist or challenge dominant gender ideology.

Using The Feminist Theory In Everyday Life

Using the feminist theory in everyday life is mainly focused on our awareness of how culture
informs sporting practices and gender-related issues in sport. For example, we know that gender
equity is difficult to achieve because it often requires that men share resources, which mostly
leads to competition. Homophobia influences the participation in sport as well as the experiences
of heterosexual women, who may face being called gay if they participate in sporting activities
usually associated with men. This theory also looks at the experiences of gay women in sport.
Feminists use sports as sites of empowerment of women and promotes forms of sport that reflect
women’s interests. Weaknesses of the feminist theory include the following. The feminist theory
focuses on social justice, equality of opportunities and existing ideologies that undermine
fairness related to gender, sexuality, social class, race, ethnicity and disability. However, there is
no clear guideline on the interrelated experiences of women of different ages, race, ability and
religions across cultures. Not every woman experiences the same discrimination and/or
unfairness within the same context or in the same way. Secondly, feminists assume that there is
a unified ‘women’s interest’, while many women argue that this is not their interest. Certain
women are happy to uphold the traditional gender role that is expected of them (i.e.,
motherhood and femininity) and believe that sport is a ‘man’s territory’.

13
Multiple-choice questions
1. The functions of the media as well as the media within sport are to:
A. Provide information, interpretation, entertainment and opportunities for interactivity.
B. Make a financial profit.
C. Influence cultural values.
D. Provide a public service.
E. All of the above

2. Some sociologists hold that because sport is a product of society, it can often reflect larger
elements of the society that created it. The five basic social functions of sport are:
A. To assist someone to socialize into sport and with people.
B. To bring people together.
C. To be used as a political instrument.
D. Only A and C.
E. All of the above

3. Sport sociologists use theories to better understand sport in society. Which of the following
are regarded as social theories?
A. Sport seen as an inspiration.
B. Male theory.
C. Feminist theory.
D. A and C.
E. Only C.

Review questions
1. Describe in your own words how sport has become commercialized.
2. Increases in sport participation rates for girls and women have not come easily and are the
result of the dedicated efforts of many individuals and groups. Discuss four factors that can inhibit
female participation in sport and four factors that would support female participation in sport.
3. Describe your own personal socialization into sport.
4. Describe the impact of sports on the Nigerian economy and media, citing notable sporting
events and dedicated media outfits in the country.
NOTE: Question 4 above is a term paper and will be recorded as your CA for first semester.

14