Sociology in Sports: Globalization, Media, Subsidies

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You have been asked by a major "think tank" to serve as a consultant on a project that is trying to predict what sports may look like from a global perspective in the year 2020. What would you predict about the globalization of sports over the next decade? Explain the basis for your predictions.

In the next decade, it is anticipated there will be less nationalism than there is today in sports. One can already see this trend, as Kenyan and Ethiopian runners frequently train in the United States, and run for other countries. Another example is Mo Farah, a British runner who won two gold Olympic medals after moving to Portland to work with Alberto Salazar. In the NBA, we've seen an influx of Lithuanian and Australian players. Swimmers Sun Yang of China and Park Tae-hwan of South Korea both trained in Australia prior to winning Olympic silver medals last summer. Missy Franklin was offered an opportunity to represent Canada (having been born and raised in Canada). As the world becomes flatter, this trend should continue. In general, less nationalism is to be expected as the lines become blurry between country of origin and training/competing representation.
Another trend to anticipate is tighter control of illegal and banned substances in athletic performance. With the biological passport becoming stronger and more accepted this will help control and alert officials to trends in an athlete's testing history. Used in cycling and at the Olympics now, it is expected to be even more prevalent as costs decrease. It is also expected to become more accurate and able to identify new substances more quickly, thus allowing a fairer playing field, globally.

The outlay and current showcase of the Olympics is likely to change by 2020. The expense and security ...