Sport, National Identities and the Media

This book examines the relationship between sport, the media, and national identities in Great Britain. It draws upon case studies of different sporting events and stories, looking at the ways in which the media (re)present different narratives of the nation(s). It focuses on the intersections between different parts of Great Britain, such as matches between two British nations within international football competitions. It also explores contested claims for national sporting glory through the achievements of individual athletes and teams. From Andy Murray's success in tennis, to the portrayal of Team GB athletes born outside of the United Kingdom, the book shines new light on ongoing debates about the perceived fragility of the United Kingdom and the place of Great Britain and its constituent parts within a post-Brexit Europe. In looking at the prestigious Sports Personality of the Year award, it considers how and where discourses of the nation intersect and what this can tell us about the significance of social issues such as gender and racial equality in sport and in wider society. This is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in the sociology of sport, sport media, the politics of sport, cultural identities, nationalism, or media studies.

John Harris is DBA Program Manager (Birmingham) in the Institute of Inner City Learning at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David - Prifysgol Cymru Y Drindod Dewi Sant. He is the author of Rugby Union and Globalization and has co-edited texts on sport, events, and tourism management. John Vincent is Professor of Sport Management in the Department of Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management at the University of Alabama. He has published work on sport, the media, and national identities in various anthologies and journals such as International Review for the Sociology of Sport and International Journal of Sport Communication.

1: Introduction: British sport, the media and national identities, 2: Scotland versus England at the 2019 FIFA Women's Football World Cup: A journey of hope, 3: English newspaper (re)presentations of Wales in the 2022 FIFA Football World Cup: A battle of Britain, 4: The blazerati in Scottish and British tennis: Narratives of Andy Murray's legacy, 5: Plastic(ine) Brits: Race, nation, the Olympic Games and Team GB, 6: Chosen by the public: SPOTY and the fuzzy frontiers of Britishness, 7: Conclusion: Flagging the sporting nation(s)