I have enjoyed watching Manchester City play football. At their best, they have been inventive, disciplined and almost impossible to contain. Whatever happens in the Premier League’s financial case, the players still had to win matches. Money can assemble a squad; it cannot make eleven people play like a team. Manchester United offer a useful… Continue reading Manchester City, the Price of Success and the Price of Fairness
Tag: news
Build the Sport Before You Build the Stadium
In 2021, Papua hosted Indonesia’s National Games—PON XX. For a few weeks, Papua possessed what appeared to be a magnificent new sporting landscape: an international-standard stadium, an aquatic centre, indoor arenas, shooting facilities, hockey pitches, cricket grounds and other specialist venues. Billions of rupiah had been invested. The facilities looked impressive, the opening ceremony was… Continue reading Build the Sport Before You Build the Stadium
Does Sport Still Do What It Was Intended to Do?
Sport was once defended as a means of developing character, health and social responsibility. Today it is also entertainment, commerce, politics and global spectacle. Has sport lost its way—or are we expecting it to produce benefits it was never designed to guarantee? The question sounds simple, but it begins with a complication: sport has never… Continue reading Does Sport Still Do What It Was Intended to Do?
The Party Ends, but the Bills Remain
Why the Commonwealth Games Need a New Hosting Model The Commonwealth Games remain one of the world’s most valuable multisport events. They bring together athletes from 74 nations and territories, provide an important international platform for smaller countries, and have become a world leader in the integration of Para sport. At their best, the Games… Continue reading The Party Ends, but the Bills Remain
Olympic Games and World Cup in America?
The USA is scheduled to host the World Cup in Football in 2026 and the Olympic Games in 2008. In the light of recent behaviour by the Trump administration, that clash significantly with the values of Olympic Sport Organisations, the question arises, should the USA be allowed to host these major sporting events? The Olympic… Continue reading Olympic Games and World Cup in America?
Time for a change in the way sport works.
For a sport idealist like myself, I could not believe my eyes when having the chance to observe the inner workings of sport at the political level. The whole process of structuring sport using the democratic model and selecting the Leaders through elections is fraught with issues. This led me to do research into this… Continue reading Time for a change in the way sport works.
The Olympic Reality
Reprinted from Thoughts in Sport 2014. London 2012 is over and Rio 2016 approaches. More spectacular ceremonies and a parade of impressive record breaking sport performances are expected. But who will excel? Brian Minikin, Lecturer in Sport Management At the Athens Games in 2004, with around 301 Gold medals up for grabs, only 56 countries out of… Continue reading The Olympic Reality
