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The impact of British sporting achievements on national pride among adults in England
Abstract
Research question
Our study investigates the relationship between elite sport performance and sportive nationalism in Great Britain.
Research methods
We utilise the Taking Part Survey (TPS), which gathers data from a representative sample of around 10,000 adults aged 16 and over residing in England each year. Between July 2011 and March 2016, the TPS included a question to identify the components of national pride in Great Britain. We examined ‘British sporting achievements’ as one of 12 domains that made people in England feel most proud of the country (Great Britain). The determinants of sportive nationalism were assessed using logistic regression analysis. Associations between monthly variations in sportive nationalism (57 data points) and specific events that might influence its level were explored.
Results and Findings
Sportive nationalism was shown by only a small minority of the sample and was typically of a lesser magnitude compared with other more stable factors such as the British countryside, its history and health service. Certain population segments were more inclined to be sportive nationalists such as those who participated in sport or followed it online. Changes in sportive nationalism were seen to coincide with the performances of British athletes and teams, albeit these were temporary in nature.
Implications
Our study provides limited evidence to justify government investment in elite sport on the grounds of success generating national pride. A wide range of events might influence sportive nationalism and reductions in this domain of national pride may be associated with both perceived failure and a general waning effect.
... National pride that comes from a country's sporting achievements has characteristics that are different from those of other sources, such as the economy, natural beauty, and cultural and scientific achievements. Sports national pride is a more fluctuating source of national pride than other sources of national pride (Shibli et al., 2021). This result was obtained because sporting events at the national or international level are often held. ...
... The Olympics are the most studied sporting event. The host and the medals won are the main reasons for the increase in national pride in the Olympic context (Shibli et al., 2021;Storm & Jakobsen, 2020). ...
... If a sport in a country has exemplary achievements, the audience tends to have good national pride (Elling et al., 2014). The level of national pride in the UK was lower than that in Germany from 2011 to 2016 because Germany had better sporting performance and achievements than the UK (Shibli et al., 2021). However, several studies have found different results. ...
Introduction: national pride is a person’s psychological self-evaluation of their nation. National pride has many benefits for the survival of a nation. A thing that influences national pride is sports. Achievements in sports achieved by a country can increase the national pride of its citizens. Objective: this study explores how sports shape a person’s national pride. Methodology: using a comprehensive literature review approach, this study explores the results of previous studies in answering the antecedents and consequences of national pride in the context of sports. Twenty-one articles on national pride and sports were studied in this research. Then, the researcher narrates the results of these studies. Most of the articles included in the study used a cross-sectional approach and were studied in the context of European countries. Results: the results show that national pride in sports fluctuates more than other sources of national pride. Major sports events play an essential role in shaping the national pride of the citizens of a country. Demographic variables such as gender, education level, income, age, race, and ethnicity also influence a person’s national pride. It was also found that the positive impact of national pride is the formation of well-being. On the other hand, the role of the media and family in forming national pride in sports has not been explored much. Conclusions: athletes' and political achievements play an important role in shaping national pride. In addition, national pride can improve a person's subjective well-being. National pride has a positive correlation with demographics, economic and educational levels, family status, gender, age, race, and even ethnicity.
... Elite sport and its potential to create public value (Grix & Carmichael, 2012;van der Roest & Dijk, 2021) or societal impact Shibli et al., 2021) have been discussed by policymakers since the late 1990s (de Cocq et al., 2021). However, 'the pursuit of Olympic gold'as de Cocq et al. (2021) called itis based on athletes' performances. ...
... Developing athletes' overall competencies can provide sports organisations with additional strategies to develop a public value proposition, as suggested previously (van der Roest & Dijk, 2021). This could then lead to a wider societal impact, as discussed Shibli et al., 2021). ...
Research question: This study aimed to provide a better understanding of Dual Career competencies among elite athletes. To that effect, we evaluated how elite athletes perceive the importance and their possession of Dual Career competencies. We also analysed the relationship between Dual Career competencies and career effectiveness, such as medal success, dual career compatibility, and dropout. Research methods: The study employed a quantitative research paradigm. Data from a cross-sectional survey of elite athletes (n = 1,115) from Germany were utilised. t-Tests were used to analyse differences in the perceived importance and possession of Dual Career competencies. Logistic regression models revealed the effects of competencies on career effectiveness. Results and Findings: The perceived importance of all competencies was rated significantly higher than their perceived possession. Several competencies were significantly correlated with the three career adaptability measures. For instance, of the social intelligence and adaptability dimension, the variable 'Understanding the importance of rest and recuperation' was positively correlated with dual career compatibility. Implications: Career construction theory was confirmed in the context of athletes' Dual Careers. This emphasised that both careers could be at different stages. Athletes and support providers should be aware that different competencies are required for goal achievement depending on which target outcomes they prioritise.
... Sport has developed into a universal language in the modern world as transcends borders and brings together people from different backgrounds to share experiences (Attali et al., 2022;Nunn et al., 2022;Welis et al., 2024). Many people use sport as an effective way to express their values, identity, and pride (Gordon et al., 2021;Shibli et al., 2021;Syaputri et al., 2024). Sport has a deeper meaning in Islamic societies which linked to religious, cultural, and social norms in unique and profound ways (Al Ruwaili, 2020;Bondin et al., 2020;Thorpe et al., 2022). ...
This study analyzed how football commentary during the World Cups of 2010, 2014, and 2018 serves as a reflection of cultural, religious, and community values within the Islamic country. The primary objective is to explore how these commentaries are used in Islamic teachings, cultural pride, and social unity into the fabric of sports narratives, and to assess the implications for Islamic education. The research employs a qualitative content analysis, focusing on football commentaries from YouTube impressions Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, and Morocco. The study examines how these commentaries are infused with values. The values are teamwork, respect, humility, and the connection of success with Islamic principles. The findings of this study found that football commentary is a potent tool for reinforcing national and religious identities, fostering a sense of unity, and promoting positive society values. For instance, commentaries from Saudi Arabia and Egypt highlight the link between football success and Islamic teachings, deepening the viewers' sense of cultural heritage. Indonesian and Turkish commentaries emphasize collective effort and social cohesion, mirroring broader community values. This research contributes to Islamic education by demonstrating how football can be an effective medium for imparting religious and moral values. By incorporating Islamic teachings into sports, educators and community leaders have the opportunity to engage younger generations in a way that is both relevant and meaningful. This approach not only helps to strengthen cultural identity but also provides a dynamic platform for promoting core Islamic values in a contemporary context. Keywords: Football Commentary, Islamic Values, Cultural Identity.
... Achievement serves as a cornerstone in the marketing of sports services, encapsulating the outcomes of sports activities (Mortezaee et al., 2022;Pinto-Escalona et al., 2024;Royo, Orejudo, & Latorre, 2023;Zhaorigetu, 2022). These accomplishments encompass successes in competitions, contributions to enhancing participants' health levels, and attainment of specific goals (Keith-Barnett & Campbell, 2019;Lim & Ong, 2024;Muñoz, Badilla, & del Picó, 2021;Politko & Shutieiev, 2019;Shibli, Ramchandani, & Davies, 2021). The SHC App offers features for showcasing sports institutions' achievements, enabling the public to assess their performance. ...
Sports institutions in Indonesia have yet to fully embrace digital channels for disseminating and promoting their services to the public. Despite some institutions engaging in digital publication through mainstream social media platforms, the existing features fail to comprehensively address the requirements of the sports sector. This study aims to assess the efficacy of publication and marketing efforts by digitizing sports institutions via the SHC app, purposefully designed for the sports sector's publication needs. Employing a qualitative approach, data were collected from 108 sports institution managers utilizing the SHC app. Data collection entailed the use of a Likert scale questionnaire ranging from 1 to 5. Validity of the data was tested through Pearson Product Moment analysis, and reliability was evaluated using Cronbach Alpha. Subsequently, the data underwent quantitative descriptive analysis and Spearman Rank correlation analysis. Findings reveal that all features within the SHC app significantly impact and foster strong relationships in the publication and marketing endeavors of sports institutions. In summary, the SHC app proves highly conducive to the digitalization of sports institutions, significantly enhancing their publication and marketing initiatives. Keywords: digitalization of sports, publication, marketing, sports services, shc app
... Unfortunately, there are no special personnel such as nurses and doctors who handle and anticipate unexpected situations in the stadium stands, but they are assigned by the club for player operations. Football is not only a type of sport, but has become the "pride of a nation" [28][29] , the identity and traditions of regional communities [30][31][32][33] , business industry [34][35][36] , "symbol of peace" [37] , pillar reflecting popularity [38][39] , and the image of the establishment, including the rivalry between clubs and their fans [40][41][42][43] . Lesson from the experience of football abroad, besides being an object, supporters are usually also subjects and have the right to make decisions regarding security and safety systems [44][45][46] , transfers of players who according to the style of play/formation of the club [47][48][49] , and their voice is trusted for the future prospects of the club [50] . ...
A dark irony in the tragedy of the death of the supporters in Kanjuruhan some time ago. There is reactive treatment from the match organizers, who ignore the safety and security of supporters in Indonesia. As a form of concern, we present a revolutionary perspective in the concept of "bottom-up" which is expected to be a safety and security guide without violence. Specifically, qualitative data collected from victims, witnesses, and the competition committee, were reconstructed into FGDs for drafting ideas. In the perspective of security and safety urgency, conceptual inspiration drives a "bottom-up" transition that combines harmonization between clubs and supporters using five pillars: empowerment, educate, supervision, mitigation, and sportsmanship. Without ignoring the regulations, FIFA, PSSI, and PT. LIB, the strategy is a modern effort that demands qualifications that are relevant to the dynamics of football, creativity, and innovation. This is a very valuable moment to break the chain in the horizontal conflict between the supporters and the security of the league, whose positions are not equal.
... ).Shibli et al. (2021) zeigen mithilfe der Daten für Großbritannien aus dem ISSP für die Jahre 1995, 2003 und 2013 zunächst, dass der allgemeine Stolz durch sportlichen Erfolg (wie oben bei Meier & Mutz 2018) über die Erhebungsjahre hinweg relativ stabil blieb (76, 72, 77 %), während der Stolz auf sportliche Erfolge stärker schwankte (75, 69, 89%). Letzteren Zusammenhang untersuchen sie detaillierter anhand von Daten aus dem Taking Part Survey (N>10.000) ...
... Humphreys et al. (2018) examined Canadian residents' value of Canadian athletes' medal success at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Using a contingent valuation method, Canadian residents answered how much they would be willing to pay to fund the country's Own the Podium program -a program "geared specifically toward enhancing Canadian performance in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Copyright © Cognizant Communication Corporation MS 22-0067 Event Management E-pub would have a more positive social value; in contrast, a negative social value would occur for residents with negative experiences or who do not identify as fans of the event(Shibli et al., 2021). ...
Residents’ major sport event (MSE) social value is a central topic for event scholars and managers. Despite its popularity, reviews have focused on empirical findings of impact-based studies; not considering resident investments of these studies nor the theoretical underpinnings of this social phenomenon. Therefore, the present systematic review of theory considers investment and impact-based studies to addresses this gap. We screened 934 records, of which only three met all our inclusion criteria. Findings revealed four theoretical concepts to understand residents’ MSE social value: affinity with sport, income, event expectation, and transparency. The combination of these concepts offers a conceptual framework that guides scholars and practitioners to create social value more strategically for residents. Findings revealed the paucity of studies which examine residents’ MSE social impact in relation to their MSE investment and calls for future investigations on residents’ investments and impacts in relation to each other.
... Previous studies have shown that exercise frequently could reduce the risk of developing cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol (Quennerstedt et al., 2020). In addition, sport also has a significant impact on the progress of a country through the achievements of athletes from various sporting events (Gassmann et al., 2020;Storm & Jakobsen, 2020;Shibli et al., 2021). However, the current sports phenomenon has been tainted by harassing and bullying behaviour (Vveinhardt et al., 2020;Ríos & Ventura, 2022;Vveinhardt & Fominiene, 2022). ...
The phenomenon of escalating harassment and bullying of female athletes in sports demonstrates that there is a gap and urgency for further scrutiny. This study aims to reveal harassment and bullying cases against female athletes in sports. This study applied a mixed method. Participants in this study were athletes in several sports organizations at the University of Islam 45 Bekasi (n = 30). A questionnaire was used as the quantitative research instrument to measure harassment and bullying in athletes, while in-depth interviews were used as the qualitative research instrument. Quantitative statistical analysis used IBM SPSS to find frequency and percentage, and qualitative analysis used thematic analysis. The quantitative research results significantly proved that all participants often experience harassment and bullying, with the highest rate occurring in gymnastics, swimming, volleyball, and soccer. While the results of the qualitative research showed that all participants had experiences or stories about harassment and bullying, the causal factors included the conditions of the training environment, athletes' clothes, attitudes, and the knowledge of coaches and athletes. In addition, participants stated that harassment and bullying negatively impact their health and psychological aspects. As a result, we emphasize that incidents of harassment and bullying occur frequently in female athletes while they are participating in sports. It is expected that this research could provide information and understanding to all sports practitioners in Indonesia and all countries in the world that harassment and bullying are very dangerous and immoral and must be handled as soon as possible by providing strict rules.
... This has led to governments and national sports organisations throughout the world spending significant sums of money on funding elite sport in pursuit of success (De Bosscher et al., 2008. One of the main arguments used to justify funding of elite sport is based on the understanding that sporting success develops national identity, which creates prestige and makes people proud to belong to their country (Grix, 2009(Grix, , 2012Shibli et al., 2021). Elite sport success is also seen to increase mass participation, subsequently leading to a healthier population, an argument contested by Weed et al. (2015), who suggest that the demonstration effect of inspiring people to become active is not underpinned by any empirical evidence. ...
Research Question: Elite sport structures that support para-athletes are designed on the assumption that the international sporting success factors are concomitant for parasport and non-disabled sport. However, there is a lack of research on elite parasport policy and the nuances which may exist for specific sports. This study investigates the international success factors for GB para-track and field.
Research Methods A mixed-methods approach was used, including quantitative surveys completed by elite GB para-athletes (n = 42) and their coaches (n = 38) and qualitative semi-structured interviews with athletes (n = 7), coaches (n = 5) and UK para-athletics support staff (n = 3).
Findings: The study revealed that although factors found in previous non-disabled studies were identified, several para-track and field-specific variables that influence these existing factors were also discovered. These were the nature of impairment (acquired or congenital); level of support and care needs; and level of equipment needs.
Implications: The study presents a framework summarising the variables influencing international para-track and field success. This can be used to inform the development of GB para-track and field policy and the design of parasport support structures to optimise success.
Research contribution: The paper contributes to growing knowledge on achieving sporting success in parasport and the differences with non-disabled sport.
By combining research on banal and unconscious nationalism with cognitive psychology, this article outlines a novel framework for so-called “implicit nationalism.” In the first part of the article, I detail how different events, symbols, and discourses affect nationalist attitudes and sentiments beyond conscious awareness and control. I argue that certain events and symbols affect implicit—but not necessarily explicit—nationalism by changing the accessibility of implicit nationalist associations. In the second part of the article, I use this framework to analyze the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The study consists of a natural experiment, including respondents from Germany, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. Winning the World Cup increased implicit nationalism in Germany, and losing decreased implicit nationalism in Brazil and the United Kingdom. Importantly, winning and losing had no corresponding effect on explicit nationalism in any country. The article concludes by discussing the implications for research on nationalism and implicit cognitions.
This study explores how watching international sports is related to the identity of overseas Chinese. Starting from the social significance of mediated sports, the article constructs its conceptual framework through the symbolic power of sports, media events, imagined community, networked publics, and characteristics of the diasporic community. Based on this, the study carried out 10 interviews on the Chinese diaspora in the United Kingdom, summarized the mechanisms and ways of linking mediated sports with national unity, and revealed the factors that will probably cause change to this connection. The results show that the symbolic power of sports and the consciousness as Asian are ties of diaspora identity construction and form patriotism in sporting contexts. Meanwhile, the degree of integration into local society and their community preference are influencing the status of collective identity enhancement brought by mediated sports.
Background Problems: The level of skills at this time is optimally needed, especially for students because it can be a selling point for them, but the skills of these students are still very underestimated because there has been no innovation to find out the skill level of current students. Research Objectives: The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of direct and indirect assistance and learning motivation on handstand skills. Methods: This research model is a quasi-experiment with a factorial design with 2 x 2 levels. The population of this study was 106 people, and the sample size was 40 people using the ordinally mathematical pairing technique. Collecting data on learning motivation using a questionnaire and handstand skills using a handstand skills test. Data were analysed using a two-way ANOVA at a significance level of α = 0.05 and the Shapiro-Wilk Sig normality test > 0.05. Furthermore, because no interaction was found between assistance with motivation and handstand skills, the Tukey test was not carried out. Findings and Results: The results of the data analysis show: (i) Overall, there is no difference in the influence of assisted handstand skills; (ii) There is no interaction between assistance and learning motivation on handstand skills; and (iii) Directly assisted handstand skills are no better than indirect assistance in learning. high learning motivation group, (iv) Indirect assistance handstand skills were better compared to direct assistance in the low learning motivation group. Conclusion: These findings are important because they provide information about handstand skills in the form of assistance that may be useful for teachers and students in improving handstand skills. This research shows that there is no significant difference between direct and indirect assistance in improving handstand skills. The recommendation for future research is to expand the sample and consider individual factors among students.
Purpose
Drawing upon social judgment theory, the research examines whether changes in psychological involvement with a sport human brand owing to their sporting success can generate spillover effects on people's national pride, a proxy for the collective level of well-being and whether the individual's behavioral engagement in sport spectating will moderate this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Leveraging a quasi-natural experiment grounded in the 2021 Indian Premier League championship, the authors solicit responses from 296 representative individuals residing in India twice using a two-wave panel design. The authors conducted confirmatory factor analysis, repeated measures T -test, latent change score analysis, and structural regression analysis to examine the relationship between psychological involvement with sport human brand and national pride.
Findings
The results demonstrate a positive association between psychological involvement with sport human brand and national pride. Further, the findings indicate that an increase in psychological involvement with sport human brand was associated with an increase in national pride due to the successful athletic endeavor involving the sport human brand. However, the relationship between psychological involvement with sport human brand and national pride was invariant irrespective of patrons' spectatorship behavior.
Originality/value
This research demonstrates that sport human brands possess transformative soft power that extends their prerogative cultural identity personified by their athletic ability and success, allowing them to shape public sentiments of national pride via their profound influence through and beyond the complex network of brand ecosystems.
В статье на основе трех исследований, проведенных с российской молодежью разных возрастов, включая школьников старших классов, и среднестатистическими россиянами, анализируется смысловое наполнение понятия патриотизм. Через методологию обоснованной теории реконструируется единая концептуальная рамка патриотизма. За основу данной рамки берется концепция десяти граней патриотизма. Автор смотрит на концепцию через призму эмпирики и рассматривает укорененность в молодежных представлениях каждой темы данной концепции: педагогики, культуры, медиа, семьи, истории, служения Отечеству, спорта, экологии, науки, добровольчества. На основе анализа результатов количественных опросов, фокус-групп и интервью с молодежью автор делает вывод о востребованности широкого взгляда на патриотизм в молодежной среде, не ограниченного исключительно военно-патриотической тематикой. Такой взгляд позволяет чувствовать себя патриотом как социально-политически активным людям, так и аполитичным, не вовлеченным в деятельность молодежных организаций и пр. Делается вывод о том, что важность каждой темы в представлениях молодежи в достаточной степени зависит от возраста и погруженности в соответствующий круг вопросов, например ценность семьи больше проявлена у взрослых молодых, которые уже создают собственные семьи и для которых ответственность за детей становится частью их повседневности, тогда как для школьников это пока история про будущее. Исследование также фиксирует, что залогом принятия информации по рассматриваемым темам становится ее подача через востребованные у молодежи каналы и соблюдение правильной тональности, исключающей навязывание мнений, позволяющей молодому человеку размышлять и самостоятельно приходить к выводам.
The purpose of this research is to identify the fluctuation of national pride during the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. Previous research has found that hosting mega sporting events increases national pride. However, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games were held under a situation different than that considered by conventional research. The Tokyo Olympic Games faced opposition from public opinion due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research involved two surveys conducted before and after the Tokyo Olympic Games. The results showed that people’s national pride increased. Furthermore, the impact of the Tokyo Olympic Games varied across individuals. Respondents who were anxious about COVID-19 experienced a smaller increase in national pride due to the event than those who were less anxious about COVID-19. This research concludes that hosting mega sporting events can increase national pride, but this effect is limited in the context of severe social issues. The limitations of this research and directions for future research are discussed.
This study examines the collective memory of British and Russian youth. We used the results of a comparative survey conducted among Russian and British students. The study focuses primarily on pride in the collective memory of young people with the aim of analyzing the category of pride among young people across several dimensions. First, we look at the qualitative content of national pride: pride in the realization of tasks related to “soft power” (for example, culture, education, sports), and pride in manifestations of “hard power” (for example, pride in military victories or power politics). Second, we analyze the temporal localization of national pride: where are the main events, personalities, and phenomena study participants take pride in, both in the past and in the present. Third, an important element of understanding pride in a country is the relationship between pride and shame: what events are mentioned more often: shameful or pride-inspiring.
Recent studies have focused on the influence of major sporting events on different areas (e.g. well-being, life satisfaction, sport-related national pride), but their effect on national pride has been investigated insufficiently. A German cross-sectional dataset (ALLBUS) that was collected during spring and fall in 2014 and 2018 was used as time series data to measure national pride among the German population during the FIFA World Cup. To detect the relevant breaks during the observation period, an interrupted time-series analysis (Linden 2015 Linden, A. 2015. “Conducting Interrupted Time-series Analysis for Single- and Multiple-group Comparisons.” The Stata Journal. 15: 480–500. doi:10.1177/1536867X1501500208.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) was performed. In 2014, when the German national team won the championship, there was a small but significant increase in national pride, and, in 2018, when the German national team was eliminated in the group stage, there was a small but significant decrease in national pride. However, in the case of Germany, these effects are temporary and, thus, are not sustainable.
When nations face the challenge of justifying their elite sport development policies, they tend to state that a wide range of societal benefits will ‘trickle down’. This argument, however, is being criticised by academics who claim that there is a lack of empirical evidence for the way elite sport influences society. In light of the uncertain/unproven positive and negative societal impacts, this study developed an encompassing conceptual framework that integrates the empirically supported potential societal impacts assumed to result from elite sport. Hence, an extensive mapping literature review regarding the potential positive and negative societal impacts of elite sport was conducted. The process involved interpreting, labelling, clustering and validating. The resulting framework includes 10 categories representing 79 sub-categories. It was found that, since the turn of the century, a growing number of empirical studies has increased the realisation that elite sport does not automatically initiate positive societal impacts. Moreover, the various ‘dark sides’ of elite sport seem to be underestimated. The framework and overall empirical picture of the potential societal impacts of elite sport presented in this paper contribute to progress the field as, until now, no mapping review that captures the full scope of this top-down relationship has been conducted. This paper hopes to make a contribution to the understanding of elite sport as a societal phenomenon. It could be argued that the potential societal impacts assumed to be sparked by elite sport have been identified but are still little understood.
It is commonly assumed that international sport reinforces feelings of national pride and national identity. Using large-scale survey data from Germany, covering the period between 1992 and 2008, some unresolved key questions surrounding sportive nationalism are addressed. We examine the relative importance of sport as a source of national pride, analyze the sociodemographics of sportive nationalism, and describe its long-term development in East and West Germany after reunification. Results reveal that sport is an increasingly important source of pride in Germany. Sportive nationalism is more common among younger generations, males, and individuals with lower socioeconomic status. Prevailing differences between East and West Germany document persistent socialization effects of former sport-centered identity politics. Among East Germans, sport is more important for general national pride, and sportive nationalism is much more equally distributed between various social groups (with regard to age, gender, education). From 1992 to 2008, however, a trend toward convergence between East and West Germans is also demonstrated.
Elite sport is often regarded as one of the main vehicles for articulating national pride and stimulating national cohesion. In this article, we explore a variety of different notions of pride and nationality as related to success in elite sport. We present the results of a public survey, which measured some of the effects on national pride in the Netherlands, related to the men’s European Football Championships, the Tour de France, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Beijing (all in the summer of 2008). The results suggest that a sense of belonging is a necessary condition that precedes rather than results from sport-related pride. This supports the notion of national pride being a rather stable characteristic of countries, notwithstanding specific situations (such as sport success) that may lead to minor and temporary fluctuations. There seems to be no empirical evidence for the — primarily quantitatively understood — concept of pride (as a ‘bucket-notion’), which is often implicit to the political rhetoric used to increase sport funding with the aim of winning more medals to generate an increase in national pride.
Like many other countries, the Dutch government increased investments in elite sports in the last decennium, partly driven by the ambition to organise the Olympic Games in 2028 in the Netherlands. One of the most important legitimations for this ambition is that elite sports events and national achievements should foster national pride, social cohesion and international prestige.
In this article we present and discuss the results of a study on the relationship between Dutch international sport achievements and the development of national pride. The outcome is based on 27 longitudinal measurements among the adult Dutch population in the years 2008–2010 in which European and world Championships men’s soccer and a summer and winter Olympic Games took place.
The results support the common belief that international sporting success of Dutch athletes
contributes to the testimony and expression of national pride and belonging. However, the extent to which national pride can be increased by national sporting success seems to be rather limited. The data show that national performances in international sport events may lead to small, shortterm eruptions in feelings of national sporting pride and well-being, especially among athletes, men and non-immigrants. However, the results indicate that national pride is a rather stable characteristic of national identification that cannot easily be increased by improving national sporting success and winning more Olympic medals.
Big sport events may strengthen negative nationalism or alternatively fuel positive patriotism. The 2006 FIFA World (TM) Cup held in Germany enabled Germans to express certain types of identities. Given Germany's history, there is the question whether this was accompanied with xenophobia. In South Africa, the 2010 FIFA World Cup (TM) is in part held to transcend deeply entrenched social cleavages and to help foster national cohesion. This article explores the way in which large-scale sport events such as the FIFA world tournament can influence processes related to national identity construction. Through an analysis of the social effects of the 2006 finals held in Germany some prospects are raised for the 2010 World Cup. Empirical data show that the 2006 tournament did not contribute to sustainable patriotism but it did have small effects in reducing xenophobia. Hereby it enhances a longer-established trend. Although there are cases of violence against foreigners in. East Germany, xenophobia has been diminishing since the 1980s. National pride, too, has been growing since then. In South Africa national pride is much stronger, although it is diminishing within the white population. However, national identity is crosscut by stronger racial identities. In spite of the implementation of certain policies by the national government, xenophobia against African foreigners is becoming a latent phenomenon. Major sport events can be used to promote values such as team spirit and discipline, but also at a wider level, tolerance, multiculturalisin and solidarity.
Elite sport currently enjoys high levels of investment in many advanced capitalist countries. The primary aim of this piece is to introduce and unpack the reasons generally given by states for prioritizing and investing in elite sport. While our core focus is the UK sport policy sector, many of the discussions will be relevant for other, advanced liberal capitalist systems (e.g. Australia and Canada) and even the now defunct dictatorships (e.g. the Soviet Union and the GDR). We show how commonsensical propositions (e.g. ‘elite sport success promotes participation among citizens’) are not always based on wide, existing research and evidence. The philosophy behind the United Kingdom's model of sport – and that of several other advanced states – we term a ‘virtuous cycle’ of sport, whereby elite sport success is seen to lead to both international prestige for the nation, a ‘feel-good factor’ among the population and, importantly, to an increase in participation among the masses. This, in turn, leads to a healthier nation and to a wider pool of people from which to pick the champions of the future. This article takes a closer look at the assumptions underlying such a model of sport.
What brings credit and prestige to a nation in the eyes of its citizens? Taking a multi‐dimensional approach, we investigate national pride in the country's science, economy, arts and literature, and sport. Data from the International Social Survey Programme's 24 nation ‘National Identity’ module ( N = 30,894) show that people throughout the developed world feel national pride in all these things, contrary to most globalization hypotheses. Pride in the economy shows the most variation among nations, and pride in science also varies greatly, while pride in the arts and literature and in sport vary less. Regression analyses show that linkages of pride to national attachment also vary cross‐culturally: pride in science is more consequential in English‐speaking countries but pride in arts less consequential; pride in sports matters especially in smaller nations; and pride in economic achievements matters everywhere.
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Contemporary research into the impact of major sports events shows that the widely used (and popular) claim of economic benefits associated with hosting them is misleading or-at best-overrated. In this paper, we aim to measure whether other potential intangible effects can be found, specifically that of national pride. We expand on existing research by including more international sports events and nations while also including a medal index into our regression models to test the effect of athletic achievement. Our results suggest that international sporting success is not a significant driver of national pride. Hosting mega sports events is positively correlated with pride, although this is not significant in our estimations. Implications for nations are that they should become much more strategic in order to harvest potential intangible effects.
Previous research has supported the idea that achievements in international sports might contribute to national pride. However, the potential role of political regimes has been widely neglected. The account presented here argues that less democratic regimes depend strongly on output legitimacy and therefore are more likely to employ sport-centred identity policies. These policies should shape public attitudes and influence the levels and socio-demographics of sport-related national pride. These ideas are examined by analysing the 2013 International Social Survey Program on ‘National Identity’, which has been conducted in 33 countries with a total number of 45,297 respondents. The analyses show that sport-related national pride varies between countries and that the state of democracy can explain some of the cross-national differences. Findings may inspire scholars to develop a more sophisticated political theory of sport-related national pride.
This paper coins the term ‘football patriotism’ to describe the open, expressive handling of national symbols (e. g. flags, anthems, national colors) in the context of international football events. Based on a representative online survey of the adult German population (N = 1092), which was carried out in the course of the 2016 UEFA EURO, this paper presents, for the first time, empirical findings on three essential questions: (1) Which proportion of the German population was involved in which forms of football-related patriotic behavior? (2) To what extent does this proportion vary between different social demographic groups? (3) Which political and ideological attitudes are associated with football patriotism? The results illustrate that roughly 15% of German adults were involved in three or more different patriotic actions during the EURO. This proportion was lower among older, East German and immigrant respondents and higher in families with children. Football patriots positioned themselves less often as politically ‘left’ and endorsed patriotic and nationalistic statements more strongly.
The trickle-down effect assumes that sporting success at the elite sport level descends down to the amateur sport level in the sense that people are inspired by sporting success to participate themselves. Previous research failed to find convincing evidence for this relationship, mostly because the data used and the methods applied (e.g. cross-sectional data, primary data, correlations) were not adequate. This study addresses these shortcomings and examines the effect of national sporting success on amateur sport participation in German football using longitudinal data from 1950 to 2014. Since an individual’s decision to participate in sport also depends on other factors, the regression models also control for working hours, real wages etc. The results show that only World Cup title wins of the men’s national team have a positive and statistically significant impact on the number of and percentage changes in individual club memberships, clubs and teams. The coefficients of European Championship titles and title wins of the women’s national team turn out to be mostly insignificant. Future research should examine the reasons as to why only title wins by the men’s team have a measurable inspirational effect on amateur sport participation in football.
Research questions: Can a demonstration effect, whereby people are inspired by elite sport, sports people and events to actively participate themselves, be harnessed from an Olympic Games to influence sport participation? Did London 2012 sport participation legacy policy draw on evidence about a demonstration effect, and was a legacy delivered?
Research methods: A worldwide systematic review of English language evidence returned 1778 sources iteratively reduced by the author panel, on advice from an international review panel to 21 included sources that were quality appraised and synthesised narratively. The evidence was used to examine the influence of a demonstration effect on sport participation engagement and to interrogate sport participation legacy policy for London 2012.
Results and findings: There is no evidence for an inherent demonstration effect, but a potential demonstration effect, properly leveraged, may deliver increases in sport participation frequency and re-engage lapsed participants. Despite setting out to use London 2012 to raise sport participation, successive UK Governments' policy failures to harness the potential influence of a demonstration effect on demand resulted in failure to deliver increased participation.
Implications: If the primary justification for hosting an Olympic Games is the potential impact on sport participation, the Games are a bad investment. However, the Games can have specific impacts on sport participation frequency and re-engagement, and if these are desirable for host societies, are properly leveraged by hosts, and are one among a number of reasons for hosting the Games, then the Games may be a justifiable investment in sport participation terms.
Politicians and sports organizations have often relied on economic benefits to justify their decisions in hosting major sports events in their countries. Consequently, there are comparatively few studies on the non-economic benefits of hosting major sports events. The purpose of this research is to determine whether there is any change in the level of national pride in the hosting of the Youth Olympics Games held recently in Singapore in 2010. Two separate surveys were conducted among students from a tertiary education institution in Singapore two months prior to, and after, the event. Results showed a significant increase in the level of national pride. Specifically, the increases in the level of national pride were more pronounced among males and those who were more involved in sports. The results concur with previous studies that have reported an increase in national pride following the hosting of a major sports event. As this is a case study focusing on the Youth Olympic Games, which arguably is on a distinctly smaller scale compared to the Olympics or the FIFA World Cup, future research needs to be conducted on other major sports events to determine the generalizability of the findings.
Abstract
States intervene increasingly in financing and organization of Olympic elite sport in order to maximize national success in the medal table. In Germany and many other countries too that includes practices that have been criticized as unacceptable in democratic societies: funding of medal-promising sports only, early selection and specialization of young athletes, authoritarian tendencies in sport policy, etc. Are those efforts reflected by a strong desire for medals within the population? Is national success regarded as so important that even critical measures are accepted? And would that indicate more general tendencies to nationalistic or authoritarian attitudes? These and other questions were addressed in a survey carried out in Germany in 2012 (N = 899). Results show that medals are indeed perceived as important, especially in lower educational levels, but by far not as important as sticking to sporting values and the rules of fair play. Multivariate analyses reveal that the desire for medal success is highly dependent on the belief in and perception of the Olympic competition. For most of the respondents that does not legitimize unfair practices or exploiting athletes, but partly the struggle for medals is also linked with a limited understanding of fair play and nationalistic or authoritarian attitudes.
Keywords
authoritarianism, elite sport, national pride, Olympic medal table, sporting success
This article reports on research on the effectiveness of sports-based interventions that sought to address issues of gang membership, racism, at-risk youth and a rather ill-defined notion of ‘conflict’. The article illustrates the varying centrality of sport in such programmes, reports on a series of in-depth interviews with participants in four programmes, exploring the nature of their experiences and perceptions of the programme elements that had the greatest impact on their values, attitudes and behaviour. The analysis draws on a number of programme theories about how such programmes might work and emphasises the centrality of social relationships between leaders and participants and the development of respect, trust and reciprocity as a basis for potential attitude and behaviour change. The interview data and previous research are used to develop an indicative programme theory which illustrates that, where change occurs, it is most likely to occur via systems of social relationships most characteristic of sport-plus programmes.
Elite sports are widely considered by national governments as a merit good through which many benefits to society as whole can be fostered through the stimulation of ‘national pride’ and ‘happiness’ (or ‘wellbeing’). The aim of this paper is to analyze what factors influence perceived national pride and happiness when athletes succeed at major national and/or international competitions. Based on a nation-wide survey, data was collected from n = 2006 randomly selected Germans by means of a computer assisted telephone interview. The results reveal that 66.2% respondents felt proud and 65.6% respondents were happy when German athletes were successful at major events. National pride and happiness were significantly explained through interest in elite sports, sport participation and socio-economic variables. The results reveal that there are differences between the perception of pride and that of happiness. Women, individuals with a low educational background, and low income and individuals having a migration background are the population segments who gain most from the sporting success of elite athletes. The results show in particular that the funding of elite sports and elite athletes can be considered as policy tool for social integration.
Owing to the changes in its technological and economic environment, the national contexts that previously defined the world of sport have changed dramatically. The contribution of sport in defining national identity has been discussed by many scholars across a range of national contexts. However, there has not been a critical examination of the role of sport in articulating Hungarian identity. This is somewhat surprising given that Hungary has been very successful in international sporting competitions producing a society that is rich in sport-related collective memories. The objective of this article is to explore the relationship of sport and national identity in Hungary within the context of globalization and social change. Using document analysis and a survey of a representative sample ( n = 1027) of the Hungarian adult population the research focuses on public attitudes to sport, and within these, the different aspects of national identity. The achievements of elite Hungarian athletes are emphasized by (sport) politicians and by the media, having an impact on the opinions and expectations of citizens. The results show that for the majority of Hungarian society elite-sport success is important, however, identification decreases in cases of failures and scandals. Issues that are not related to elite sport are not as prominent although these may strengthen national integration regardless of performance success.
elite sport, globalization, Hungary, national identity, sport consumption
The sports industry is viewed as being of growing economic significance, reflected in its promotion in public policy. One specific aspect of this policy is to argue that investment in international sporting success creates pride from sporting success, which contributes to subjective well-being (SWB). However, though it has been argued that indicators of sporting success, such as the number of medals won at major sports events like the Olympics, act as a proxy for pride from sporting success, there have not been any direct tests of this hypothesis. Controlling for the impact of physical activity, attendance at sports events and other standard covariates, this paper addresses this hypothesis by focusing on a variable which directly measures pride felt from sporting success (Pride) by individuals. Because of the possibility that a latent characteristic such as nationalism, or overall national pride, might be linked to both Pride and SWB, i.e. an endogeneity problem is present, an instrumental variable technique is employed. The findings do not support the hypothesis that pride following from sporting success can contribute distinctly to SWB. Moreover, the hosting of events may be more important than success at them, a point suggested by the positive association between attendance at sporting events and SWB. As such the goals of public sector investment in both hosting major sports events as well as investment in sports development to achieve international sporting success are shown to be more distinct than implied in much of the policy announcements and require more careful scrutiny.
The sporting success of athletes and national teams is associated with a feel-good-factor among the population. These positive social effects can be regarded as public goods that entail a certain value for the population. The value of public or non-market goods can be estimated using the contingent valuation method (CVM). A theoretical model is developed based on the consumption capital theory. This model explains the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for winning the 2010 Football World Cup as a function of sport-related and football-specific consumption capital as well as intangible and socio-economic factors. Within a survey of German citizens (n=3049), the value of winning the 2010 Football World Cup is assessed using CVM. The model is tested using regression analyses to identify the significant determinants of WTP. The results reveal half of the respondents stated a WTP that amounted to €26 on average. The findings of a mixed-effects logistic as well as an alternative Tobit regression model show that intangible factors such as identification with the country and with the national team as well as individual and national importance of a good result significantly influence individuals’ WTP. Based on the findings of this study, it can be recommended that policy makers invest in national teams and athletes as national sporting success can generate a feel-good-factor among the population and make people happier. Additionally, it can impact on peoples’ perceptions and expectations about current and future economic situations which in turn determine macro-economic outcomes. Moreover, such estimations could be integrated into cost-benefit terms that are carried out for sport events.
Grounded in social-identity and self-categorization theories and drawing on data gathered in the US General Social Survey (N = 2528), this research examines how demographic and media-use measures associate with national pride, as experienced through the success of US athletes competing internationally. Bivariate tests and analysis of covariance models indicated greater levels of national pride among black males, older respondents, those who classified themselves as republicans and those with lower levels of formal education. Exposure to newspapers and television did not prove statistically significant in multivariate analyses, although bivariate tests revealed that those exposed most frequently to television tended to agree in significantly higher numbers with the statement ‘When my country does well in international sports, it makes me proud to be an American.’ Limitations and recommendations for future research are offered.
The paper examines the use made of sport by governments to help manage identity. It begins with an exploration of the relationship between sport and ethnic culture and continues with an analysis of the ways in which sports can be used to aid the state and achieve its objectives of legitimacy, territorial integrity, and citizen commitment. This introduction is followed by an examination of the particular problems of identity faced by Canada, Ireland and Britain and the sports policies adopted by the governments of the countries is evaluated. It is concluded that while sport possesses a powerful symbolism that can be exploited on occasion to great effect, the malleability of sports symbolism often undermines its capacity to exert a lasting effect on national identity.
The widely proclaimed economic benefits of hosting major sporting events have received substantial criticism by academic economists and have been shown to be negligible, at best. The aim of this paper is to formally examine the existence of another potential impact: national well-being or the so-called "feelgood" factor. Using data on self-reported life satisfaction for twelve European countries we test for the impact of hosting and of national athletic success on happiness. Our data covers three different major events: the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship. We find that the "feelgood" factor associated with hosting football events is large and significant, but that the impact of national athletic success on happiness, while correctly signed, is statistically insignificant.
This article examines how national pride has changed in Britain since the beginning of the 1980s. We show that there have been large declines in pride and that this is exclusively generational in nature; with more recent generations having substantially lower levels of pride in 'Britishness' than previous generations. Confirming the reality of 'Thatcher's Children', we find that this process has been arrested to some extent, with generations coming of age in the 1980s and after having similar levels of pride to their immediate predecessors. We also find large regional disparities in these processes, with substantially bigger differences between new and old generations in Scotland, compared to England and Wales. Although generational differences in England and Wales appear to be generalized across a range of different aspects of nationhood that form citizens' national identity, generational differences in Scotland are more marked for certain types of national pride.
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