Contributions and publications on the subject Sport

The future of sport: what national and international policies ?

Sport is proving to be a political tool. Firstly, with its different models of governance at national and international levels. Secondly, as a means of exerting influence, a means of development, of social sustainability and of promoting values. Part two of our report focuses on these political aspects.

[Event] Francophonie and influence, now and tomorrow

History shows that there exists an intricate link between influence, power and language. Today, the number of French speakers worldwide is growing: from 321 million in 2022, the most optimistic forecasts estimate that this figure will reach 600 million by 2050. Nevertheless, the French-speaking world (Francophonie) has recently suffered a series of setbacks on the international stage, such as the sudden end to the teaching of French programmes in Algerian public schools. It is therefore important to ask whether, in the future, in areas as varied as politics, the economy, culture, education and sport, Francophonie will continue to be a vector of influence, especially for France, or whether it now calls for a fresh impetus.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia: Sport Is Also a Means to Accumulate Power and Build Control

Opinion piece by Simon Chadwick States have long played a role in sport, sometimes in promoting participation and at other times in helping governments to achieve political ends. This role is often perceived as being positive, for instance in the way it is intended to address public health challenges. Though states’ engagement with sport can be for malign reasons, indeed there are many examples of sport being deployed for propaganda purposes. Such is the potential for states to exert their influence over and through sport that, for example, football’s governing body FIFA explicitly prohibits states from intervening in national associations.

Paris 2024: A Unique Geoeconomic Opportunity for France

Opinion by Jean-Baptiste Guégan | The Paris 2024 Games are about more than mere sporting excitement. They carry with them major economic stakes for more actors than the host city alone. An ideal opportunity to recall the growing importance of the geoeconomy of sport.

The Future of Sport: Needs and Ideas of International Youth for Use by Policymakers

With the Rugby World Cup 2023 and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games just around the corner, sport is a daily feature in the media, in political and economy columns, and in conversations with family and friends. Everyone agrees on the importance of promoting sport for all and on the benefits of sport for young people, particularly in terms of improving health, developing autonomy, improving employability, and teaching values. But what do we know about what the younger generation think of it? After all, they are the ones who are going to be discovering it and participating in it (or not). This is a complex subject, as sport is so multidimensional and multifaceted. In this context, and in keeping with the general aims of SKEMA Publika, we wished to conduct a comprehensive study focusing on sport, so as to identify, based on the expectations expressed by the young people of a number of countries, the major evolutions which are likely but also necessary over a ten-year period, while taking into account the national and international policies currently in place, then put forward some recommendations for national and international policy-makers. To do this, we listened to online discussions on Twitter and analysed 7.6 million tweets posted by 670,000 young people aged 18 to 24. We also conducted interviews and surveys with 100 students of 18 different nationalities, with different sports levels.

Broadcasting the 2023 Women’s World Cup: A Chance To Make a Difference

by Jean-Baptiste Guegan | Why should we buy the rights to the next FIFA World Cup? The Cup will take place from July 20 to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand. A unique opportunity to "bring women’s soccer to the forefront and show that it is just as important as men’s football", as FIFA General Secretary Fatma Samoura recently put it. And yet, not everyone will be able to see it. Even today, some broadcasters are unable or unwilling to finance the rights to broadcast the event, thus depriving millions of spectators of the event. France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom, all historic footballing hotspots, are among the absentees.

As the World Goes Meta, Will Sporting Events Follow?

In this article, Simon Chadwick (SKEMA Business School) & Rauf Mammadov (PwC) aim to explore the prospect of the metaverse platform in the sporting arena, arguing that although the market size of the metaverse is predicted to grow exponentially over the next few years, effective adoption, and utilization of metaverse platforms for sporting events will require addressing unique challenges.

Sport in Europe Faces Governance Challenges As the Growth of Multipolarism Confronts It

By Simon Chadwick | Global sport is changing. Organised around the Global North since it originated, international sport governance is increasingly influenced by countries of the Global South. Europe, once at its centre, saw its hegemonic position challenged first by North American hyper-commercialisation of sports, and now today, by the strength of the Global South’s geopolitical aspirations. How can European sport overcome these challenges?