Furthermore folk-pastimes were very simple in their organisational and administrative structure. As Malcolmson (1973) points out, often games began spontaneously with the venue being the environment the individuals were in, such as the streets of a town. Thus during these times bureaucratic structures did not exist. Organisation of activities lay in the hands of the participants and to a degree this was reflected in a more ludic sport form. In contemporary times a definite bureaucratisation of sport has occurred with networks of governing and overseeing organisations operating in every competitive sport, examples include soccer’s

Another area of ethical concern revolves around the pressures placed upon elite athletes in contemporary times to engage in actions that may jeopardise their wellbeing. Almost every elite level sport practised internationally today has many instances of such occurrences. The horror stories surrounding female gymnastics or anabolic steroid use by former Eastern Bloc female field-event athletes are prime, if extreme, examples. Is there a need to regulate more forcefully against such self-disregarding actions? Should governments intervene into the workings of modern sport and, for example, take drug testing out of the hands of sport’s governing bodies and federations? However, are governments able to act independently of those in control of sport or would one be paranoid in thinking that Bernie Ecclestone’s £1,000,000 ‘donation’ to New Labour in 1997 was, in effect, a bribe to ensure Formula One’s exemption from tobacco advertising regulations? When ‘GAP’ and ‘NIKE’ claim that working conditions in factories producing their goods in the Far East meet their ‘codes of conduct’ in the face of contradictory evidence, do they do so out of ignorance or in an effort to dupe the consumer into a false sense of security? The key point is that it is fairly obvious that the future of sport globally does lie mainly in the hands of the international ‘powermongers’. However in order to move towards a more positive, ethical, sustainable and justifiable sporting future, the key is to make these power holders more accountable in some fashion. Their operational and administrative structures need to be more democratic and their decision-making processes and outcomes need to be more transparent, public and justified.

This phase also saw, as Maguire (2001) observes, ‘the slow assertion of women's rights and the challenge to hegemonic masculinity’. Jennifer Hargreaves (1994) notes that in 1921, in defiance of IOC policy, a group of American and European female athletes arranged an athletics meeting in Monte Carlo, which established the composition of future internationals. The period also witnessed the rise of ‘counter-cultures’ including those based upon race and/or religion. Harris (1999) highlights Cassius Clay’s joining the ‘Nation of Islam’ and his subsequent name change, and Smith and Carlos’ ‘Black Power’ salute at the 1968 Olympics as instances pivotal to sport.

“The Cold War era following World War II was also full of incidents in which countries, especially the U.S., the USSR, and East Germany, used the Olympics and other international sport competitions to claim the superiority of their political and economic systems”.

The hegemony of Britain was also under threat as the Third World and nations of the Empire developed and began to rival and surpass their one-time conquerors. Events in cricket are a prime example of this new challenge to British dominance, for example from 1932 through to 1959 England recorded six series victories and one draw against India. 1961/62 however saw India’s first victory of many over England. This development of non-occidental nations also incorporated the Far East and Tokyo’s hosting of the 1964 Olympics is a key example of this. The Games significantly brought the inclusion of a Japanese sport, Judo, to the primarily Western dominated Olympics.

“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

Some topics in this essay:
Riot Act, Rico’s IWA, Middle Ages, Championships IAAF, Latin America, Formula One’s, Discrimination Act, American Football, Jennifer Hargreaves, Christianity’ Due, modern sport, sporting future, contemporary times, malcolmson 1973, modernisation theory, games involved, popular recreation, american football, sport leisure, global processes, challenge western hegemony, malcolmson 1973 notes, jennifer hargreaves 1994,