Sport, Migration, Citizenship, ‘Race’ and National Identity: Towards a new research agenda

For those studying national belonging, elite athletes competing in international mega events offer particularly compelling case studies as they represent the nation during periods of sustained media attention and heightened emotional registers. They wear the colors and flag of the nation, they sign the national hymn and they literally become the ideal image of creating the ‘imagined community’.

In the international sports arena, the legal guidelines and the moral justifications for citizenship and national belonging are stretched. By taking high profile examples from international sports events, the Sport and Nations network seeks to unveil the complexities behind the question: who may represent the nation?

The aim of this meeting is threefold:

1. To present the major research-results of the Sport and Nation network of the last five years.
2. To present some of the major results from football and race scholars and the Football and race network 
3. To look for opportunities to move on in this research Arena. Therefore, we invited respected and outstanding scholars to discuss the state of the art of sport and social sciences/humanities studies and look at the future.

Organisation: Gijsbert Oonk, Jacco van Sterkenburg, Jasmin Seijbel, Carmen Longas Luque, Arne van Lienden.