International Sporting Events Research Articles

No Overactivism: Robert Lewandowski’s Use of Gentle Protest to Avoid National Political Backlash

The last few years have seen the return of athlete activism into major international sports events held worldwide as a mindset based on social responsibility and political freedom of speech has spread into the selfperception of many current top athletes. However, while these athletes may have experienced a recent personal transformation, the national political backlash accompanying activism remains set in a long tradition condemning political interference in sports. This article provides a background on the tradition of castigating political athlete activists, a theory on why and how national political backlash occurs, and evidence on the successful use of gentle activism to avoid such scenarios. The research examines a case study of Polish international footballer Robert Lewandowski’s ‘pointing the finger’ during a World Cup qualifier in 2022 to illustrate how alternative moderate forms of activism can be adopted. This study aims to introduce the term ‘overactivism’ into the politics of sport as a concept where the athlete prioritises retaining long-term political relevancy over maximising the political impact of a single event.

Contrasting media representations of race and national identity: The case of England and Italy at the Union of European Football Associations Euro 2020

The continuous growth of international sport events as media spectacles has magnified their ability to project ideas of nationhood. In media coverage, the athletes/players are portrayed as the embodiment of the ‘nation’, but this process is far from linear. Historically, mass media have constructed highly gendered and restricted ideas of the nation, placing women and ethnic minorities at the margins or erasing them altogether. The analysis of the coverage of the England and Italy men’s teams at the Euro 2020 brings to the forefront the persistence, but also the evolution, of such tensions. Combining critical discourse analysis with theories of race and racialisation, this article aims to unpack the often-overlooked role of ‘race’ in the articulation of national identity in Europe. While the England team proudly embraced the ethnic diversity of British society, Italy was the only Western European team not to select players with an immigrant background or ethnic minorities. By looking at a British popular newspaper, Daily Mail, and at an Italian one, Corriere della Sera, this article provides a necessary update to the understanding of the function of mass media as ‘gatekeepers’ of the nation.

Financial Risk Analysis in the Operation of Sports Events from a Commercial Perspective

With the acceleration of globalization, the sports industry has shown vigorous development momentum under the precise efforts of recent policies, gradually entering a new golden period of development. Various international sports events have flourished, becoming an important force in promoting the development of the global sports industry. Organizers of commercialized international sports events, as independent economic entities responsible for their own profits and losses, bear the important mission of promoting the development of the sports industry and enhancing international influence. They face risks and challenges from political, economic, cultural, and other aspects, while also being vigilant against the potential threats of financial risks. To meet these challenges, organizers must continually improve their financial management capabilities, strengthen risk assessment and prevention, to ensure the smooth progress of the event and the maximization of economic benefits. Only in this way can commercialized international sports events stand undefeated in the fierce market competition and contribute to the continuous and healthy development of the sports industry.

Analyzing Public Sentiment Regarding the Qatar 2023 World Cup Debate Using TF-IDF and K-Nearest Neighbor Weighting

This research aims to uncover the sentiment of Twitter users regarding the polemics surrounding the 2023 Qatar World Cup using a text-based sentiment analysis approach. The research methodology involves collecting data from Twitter posts, encompassing discussions, opinions, and responses related to the Qatar World Cup 2023. The TF-IDF weighting is applied to identify significant keywords in each post, while the K-Nearest Neighbor algorithm is employed to classify sentiments as positive, negative, or neutral. The findings reveal a comprehensive picture of how the public perceives the Qatar World Cup 2023 on the Twitter platform. The results not only cover positive and negative aspects of online discussions but also identify trends and patterns of sentiment that emerge during specific periods.The application of these methods provides valuable insights into understanding the dynamics of public opinion related to international sports events through the lens of social media. The results of the analysis demonstrate that a majority of Twitter users express positive sentiments towards the Qatar World Cup 2023, highlighting excitement and anticipation. However, some negative sentiments also arise, primarily related to controversies and concerns about the event. The research further identifies temporal variations in sentiment, reflecting changing public perceptions over time.This research contributes to the development of sentiment analysis methods by using a combination of TF-IDF weighting and the K-Nearest Neighbor algorithm to delve into Twitter users' perspectives. Consequently, the findings have practical applicability for further research and implementation in managing the social impact and public perception of major sporting events like the World Cup. .

Remote Viewership of International Sporting Events and Crime: Evidence From Jamaica

This article examines the effect of televised international sporting events (e.g., FIFA World Cup or Summer Olympics) on crime in Jamaica. We use a fixed effects model that compares, within each police division, the level of crime that occurs during these international sporting events to the rate of crime on similar days when these events are not occurring. We found that on days when the FIFA World Cup matches are held, there is a reduction in the number of murders (23.3%), shootings (20%), break-ins (19.4%), and robberies (11.7%), relative to the average number of each incident. We found no evidence of crime displacement, as these crimes also reduced during nonmatch periods during the FIFA World Cup. On the other hand, our results suggest that the international events that are less popular in Jamaica (the World Athletics Championship, the Summer Olympics, and the Winter Olympics) had a minimal impact on crime.

Leveraging Major Sport Events’ Success Towards Positioning Qatar as a Sport Tourism Destination

Through substantial investments in the sports sector, Qatar has solidified its position as a prominent global sport events destination. Notably recognised for hosting the monumental 2006 Asian Games, this marked the inception of Qatar's evolution into a hub for sport tourism. Since then, Qatar has successfully hosted several large-scale international sporting events, culminating in the historic hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This trajectory continues with Qatar securing bids for forthcoming events such as the 2027 FIBA Basketball Cup and the 2030 Asian Games. Despite earlier unsuccessful bids for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016 and 2020, Qatar remains committed to upholding its exceptional hosting legacy. This study seeks to discern the critical dimensions contributing to successful hosting and their broader impact on the host country. Drawing insights from a critical review of past events, including comparative analyses with FIFA World Cups from 2022, 2018, and 2014, this research aims to identify common key indicators and their influence on local communities. By discerning these elements, the study endeavours to craft a roadmap for hosting major sporting events, addressing challenges, and leveraging supporting factors. The outcomes will offer prospective agendas and recommendations intended to bolster Qatar's strategic positioning as a competitive international sport tourism destination. For aspiring nations like Qatar, these large-scale sporting events serve as catalysts for sustainable impacts that transcend the event itself.

Implications of Heat Stress-induced Metabolic Alterations for Endurance Training.

Inducing a heat-acclimated phenotype via repeated heat stress improves exercise capacity and reduces athletes̓ risk of hyperthermia and heat illness. Given the increased number of international sporting events hosted in countries with warmer climates, heat acclimation strategies are increasingly popular among endurance athletes to optimize performance in hot environments. At the tissue level, completing endurance exercise under heat stress may augment endurance training adaptation, including mitochondrial and cardiovascular remodeling due to increased perturbations to cellular homeostasis as a consequence of metabolic and cardiovascular load, and this may improve endurance training adaptation and subsequent performance. This review provides an up-to-date overview of the metabolic impact of heat stress during endurance exercise, including proposed underlying mechanisms of altered substrate utilization. Against this metabolic backdrop, the current literature highlighting the role of heat stress in augmenting training adaptation and subsequent endurance performance will be presented with practical implications and opportunities for future research.

The “sports wars”: A contest theory approach to cities hosting game

The competition among cities to host a sports team or a large-scale international sports event is modeled as a winner-pay contest with an entry fee. In the first stage, each contestant (city) decides whether to pay the entry fee (infrastructure required by the team, for example), which allows it to participate in the second stage, that is, the actual contest. We show that the contest organizer’s choice of the optimal entry fee does not depend on the number of contestants. Furthermore, in some cases, the result is a form of zero-sum game, in which the sports team or event organizer is the main beneficiary. The findings shed light on this type of competition and under what conditions on the entry fee a city might benefit from hosting a sports team or large-scale international sports event.

Challenges and practices in international sport federations to gain and maintain legitimacy

Introduction International sport federations (IFs) are today part of complex ecosystems (Bayle, 2023). As governing bodies, they are regulators and define and sanction sporting and participation rules. IFs are further organizers of international sport events, some of which attract large audiences and investments. In this role, IFs have to satisfy diverging demands of multiple stakeholders (Chappelet, 2021). Additionally, IFs have become important social, economic and political actors. They are employers and as such contribute to the local economy and have a corporate social responsibility. And with sport being increasingly interwoven with money, power, politics and state interests, IFs also influence and are influenced by geopolitics. This has entailed corruption and self-enrichment on one side of the spectrum, and it enabled peace processes and development on the other side. In this complex web of mission, expectations and pressures, how do IFs gain/maintain legitimation? Methods Using literature research and desk research, we first focus on the role and mission of IFs since their creation and illustrate an overview of the changing expectations against which IFs sought/seek legitimacy (historical timeline). Reflecting the conceptual model of Bayle and Clausen (2023, under review) on IFs’ organizational performance and its operationalization, we then map explicit and implicit performance indicators that derive from IFs’ mission and the multiple social, economic and political activities they have embraced over the past decades. Based on this mapping, we discuss IFs’ strategies to meet expectations and pressures that result from these performance indicators. We conclude the presentation with an assessment of the interrelation between expectations towards IFs, strategies developed by IFs, and internal/external performance control mechanisms based on five interviews. Results The social, political, and economic influence of IFs is largely recognized today. Yet, their legitimacy as non-profit governing bodies of sport in the eyes of prominent stakeholders (e.g., IOC, governments, sponsors) is currently reduced to their ability to comply with dominant governance and sustainability frameworks. As a result of this narrow focus, academics and practitioners have developed a good understanding and monitoring mechanisms of IFs’ governance practices. On the other hand, IFs’ performance and legitimacy from a mission and purpose perspective is greatly understudied. Discussion/Conclusion One of the challenges in defining performance indicators for IFs is their broad societal mission. Firstly, the impact of IFs’ activities to contribute to some sort of societal betterment is difficult to measure. And secondly, the priorities of societal issues change (e.g., poverty, health, climate). Any performance measurement system for IFs therefore needs to be dynamic to address both IFs’ mission and evolving external expectations.

Social media impact on international sports events related to the brand Spain: a comparison between inner versus outside events

PurposeThis study analyzes the impact of sports social media on a country regarding three international events connected to the brand Spain. It examines (1) the use and importance of various social media platforms in sports events and (2) identifies the countries generating the most social media content.Design/methodology/approachA total of 1,711,084 posts were collected for analysis, focusing on FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, XLI Marathon Valencia Trinidad Alfonso 2022 and Davis Cup 2022, with a particular emphasis on the Spain brand. Through Atribus, diverse social media data were recovered and analyzed. Later, we recommended employing various metrics and ANOVAs to address the research questions. Additionally, we conducted a sentiment analysis.FindingsThe results show differences between (1) the use and relevance of social network platforms and events and (2) the content generated by different countries. The practical implications offer valuable insights for sports event organizers, destination managers and other stakeholders. The research implications suggest potential avenues for future research based on the observed patterns and behaviors in social media posts related to sports events and Brand Spain.Originality/value(1) Some papers have studied the role of sports events’ social media, ignoring the comparison among different social media platforms; (2) usually, previous literature has focused on a single event or sport and (3) although there is considerable research related to the strategic and operational Inés Küster Boluda Inés Küster Boluda role of social media, there is less systematic analysis related to the extent sports events use social media in general and in specific social media platforms and virtually nonexistent studies that employ index measurements.

INFLUENCE OF BROADCASTING OF SPORTS EVENTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TELEVISION INDUSTRY

The industry of sports has become one of the most profitable global industries and live broadcasting of sports events has proved to be the most wanted TV programme. There was a time of linear TV emissions, when the contents used to be available exclusively on TV sets, for free, live and only on official national emitter programmes, while nowadays these contents are followed by the viewers via all available platforms and devices, quite frequently for certain additional fee. Sport broadcasting has become globally available at any moment and at any place, both live and delayed, and licence rights are the mighty instrument in the media game. The development of technology and overall media industry is directly linked to the development of the industry of sports through technological advances regarding content placement, the development of new business models and marketing placement. Due to possible budget limitations, exorbitant prices of licence rights concerning the broadcasting of international sports events and the legislation not protecting our national interest in terms of the contents available free of charge to all the citizens, public media services are rather often likely to lose in this race to specialised sports channels whose baseline business models are founded on none other than live broadcast. The research will be conducted using the methods of induction, deduction, analysis and synthesis, as well as the comparative method.

Are we prepared for potential repercussions of international sports events in the midst of a global pandemic?

Are we prepared for potential repercussions of international sports events in the midst of a global pandemic?

Social Perception and Attitude Towards International Sporting Events of Local Residents

Sporting events are central to the world of professional sports, making the acceptance and support of these events critical to their success. Our study aimed to analyse the relationship between opinion formation (support or opposition) and general attitudes toward sporting events in Hungary. And also to explore how attitudes towards sporting events differ from those who do not. To determine the connection and effects of the model, we use Covariance-based Structural Equation Modelling (CB-SEM), while in order to analyse the differences of supporter types we concluded a Cluster analysis. The latent variables of the developed SEM model had high internal consistency and good reliability, while the model had good psychometric properties. The results indicate that attitude has a significantly positive effect on perceived positive impacts of sports events (=0.93), explaining 87% of its variance, while it also has a significantly negative effect on perceptions of negative impacts of sporting events (>=-0.42). In addition, there is a strong direct effect between positive attitudes towards sports events and their positive perception. Through cluster analysis, we identified four significantly distinct groups: "Opponents" (13.5%), "Indifferent" (28.6%), "Rational Supporters" (29.4%), and "Enthusiastic Supporters" (28.6%). Most of the respondents agreed that international sporting events can enhance the image of the host city, promote economic development, and stimulate the local economy. However, perceived negative effects were driven by political reasons, such as government support for sports and lack of information. Therefore, our findings suggest that education and the provision of accurate information can help increase support for similar sporting events.

Medical support for major international sports events: a literature rewiew

Introduction. The article carries out a critical review of the literature and updates the emphasis in organizing the preparation and holding of major sporting events from the point of view of a healthcare organizer.Target: to identify areas of activity that require further improvement and development in the organization of medical support for major sporting events.Materials and methods. An analysis of the available literary sources of databases was carried out: RSCI, RusMed, Pubmed, Web of Science.Results. The most pressing groups of issues for further study and solution have been identified: the uniqueness, significance and complexity of sporting events; statistics and structure of diseases and injuries; features of the structure and course of medical conditions at sports facilities and events; organizing interaction between different services within the healthcare system and interdepartmental interaction; prevention and monitoring of infectious diseases; features of training of medical personnel.Conclusion. The holding of major sporting events, in turn, is a driver for the development of the healthcare system in the host city and country. Preparing for such an event requires the creation of a vision, operational plans, targeted training of personnel and infrastructure.

Symbolic Expression of Asian Groups in International Sports Events from the Perspective of Visual Culture

This study delves into the symbolic expressions of Asian groups in international sports events through the lens of visual culture. Against the backdrop of globalization and increased international exchanges, the engagement and display of Asian groups in global sports competitions have garnered significant attention. The research theme centers on utilizing the perspective of visual culture to comprehensively analyze the symbols employed by Asian communities during sporting events, aiming to unravel the cultural messages and identity conveyed through these symbols. It also highlights the crucial role of international sports events as platforms for showcasing culture. The study adopts the methodologies of literature review and case analysis, approached from the perspective of Nicholas Mirzolfs visual culture theory. The findings underscore the distinctive role of these symbols in conveying cultural identity and values while emphasizing the significance of international sports events in facilitating cross-cultural exchange. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the cultural significance of symbolic expressions within international sports events, providing novel theoretical and practical support for the fields of cultural communication and cross-cultural research.

‘Best run club in the world': Manchester City fans and the legitimation of sportswashing?

The term sportswashing has been discussed and analysed within academic circles, as well as the mainstream media. However, the majority of existing research has focused on one-off event-based sportswashing strategies (such as autocratic states hosting major international sports events) rather than longer term investment-based strategies (such as state actors purchasing sports clubs and teams). Furthermore, little has been written about the impact of this latter strategy on the existing fanbase of the purchased team and on their relationship with sportswashing and the discourses surrounding it. This paper addresses this lacuna through analysis of a popular Manchester City online fan forum, which illustrates the manner in which this community of dedicated City fans have legitimated the actions of the club's ownership regime, the Abu Dhabi United Group – a private equity group operated by Abu Dhabi royalty and UAE politicians. The discursive strategies of the City fans are discussed, in addition to the wider significance of these strategies on the issue of sportswashing and its coverage by the media.

STRATEGY TO IMPROVE SPORTS TOURISM IN THE JAKABARING SPORT CITY AREA, PALEMBANG CITY

Jakabaring Sport City (JSC) in Palembang, South Sumatera Province has become the largest centralized sport complex in Asia. This sport complex is the host of PON XVI 2004, SEA GAMES XXVI 2011 and ASIAN GAMES XVIII 2018. With the presence of several mega events, the Jakabaring Sport City (JSC) is one of the centres of international standard sport and tourism activities in Indonesia. Based on the data from Dinas Pemuda dan Olahraga, Palembang City, the number of international sporting events held in Jakabaring Sport City (JSC) has increased from 2015 by 14 events until 2019 increase to 3 events. From the existence of this matter, this research aims to study the actual development and potential in the tourism sector. The method used in this research is descriptive method by obtaining qualitative. And data collection techniques using literature studies. The data that has been obtained is than analyzed using an interactive analysis method by wich researchers are required to conduct data collection activities, data reduction, data presentation, and finally conclusions are obtained. This research resulted in an assessment direction on strategies to increase sport activities especially to increase the sport tourism events in Jakabaring Sport City (JSC), Palembang city

British press coverage of international sports events hosted by Saudi Arabia: content analysis study in light of country concept model

This paper examines the British press coverage of international sports events hosted by Saudi Arabia. The study provides an analytic perspective by employing the model of the country concept and the covered by the British press of the international sports events in Saudi Arabia. This study fills the gap in the literature on the British press coverage of sports events hosted by Saudi Arabia in light of the country concept model. For this research, the study employed content analysis to collect data from the two British newspapers, The Sun and the Daily Mail coverage. The paper has several contributions to knowledge. Firstly, it brings an understanding of the role of the country concept model in explaining the reputation and image of a country. Using Fullerton’s model, the paper has found that by employing a soft power package that includes hosting international sports events, Saudi Arabia’s country image has changed. Secondly, the research found that the most coverage of events in Saudi Arabia was still negative. However, this negative coverage has decreased over the past few years, while neutral and positive coverage has increased. Finally, the research has contributed to the literature by finding out that the coverage of Saudi Arabia was characterised by a large number of negative articles, as opposed to more neutral or positive reporting. This finding confirms the country concept model, which states that some elements, like foreign and social media, cannot be controlled.

China’s image in international sports events on positive psychology and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

BackgroundMajor international sports events will provide great group psychological encouragement to citizens. This study attempts to explore the impact of major international sports events on national positive psychology and symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).Subjects and Methods The research subjects were 268 patients who underwent PTSD treatment at a domestic public hospital between June 2020 and June 2023. These patients were randomly and evenly divided into an experimental group and a control group. In the experiment, the control group was required to observe major foreign sports events for at least 30 minutes every day, but there were no Chinese teams present during the events. The experimental group needs to watch international major sports events of the same type as the control group, but there are Chinese team matches included in the viewing content. The intervention lasted for 14 days, and the PTSD Symptom Scale Interview (PSS-I) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) tests were conducted on both groups of patients before and after the experiment.ResultsBefore and after the experiment, there was a significant difference in the PSS-I and SDS scale scores between the two groups of patients. Moreover, the overall scale data of the experimental group was significantly better than that of the control group.ConclusionsWatching major international sports events that are conducive to building China’s national image can enhance the positive psychological level of the people and treat PTSD symptoms.

Sports Event Satisfaction and Word-of-Mouth Intention

A mega sports event is expected to bring immediate and long-term impact on the host country’s economy. In this study, we explore one of the possible long-term outcomes of the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games in the tourism sector by estimating the factors influencing the intention of its international spectators and participants in spreading positive word-of-mouth (WOM) about Indonesia to their respective relatives, friends, and colleagues after the event. Based on the face-to-face survey conducted during the event, there were 1,914 usable responses from international athletes, country officials, committees-sport federations, journalists, and spectators. The results show that the respondents were more likely to spread positive WOM if they were male, had never traveled to Indonesia, had the experience of participating in other international sports events, were relatively older, had long periods of stay in Indonesia during the visit, and participated in the event as a non-athlete. Furthermore, satisfaction with the provisions of facilities, including venues, food and accommodations, telecommunications and internet access, easy match scheduling, safety and security, information services, and transportation arrangements, had positive effects on their intention to spread positive WOM, although only the last two factors were statistically significant. This paper also discusses the policy and academic implications of the findings.