The impact of sport on nation building: A Critical Analysis of South Africa and the 2010 FIFA World Cup

Abstract

The impact of sport on nation building is a popular theme in political science and sociology. It is therefore hardly surprising that many scholars have studied the potential of sport as a nation builder in a fragmented society. Those who study the dynamics of sport have accepted that sport is inseparable from nationalism and that it can form a powerful tool in the hands of politicians. Yet there is also a perception that sport has an infl ated status as social unifi er – that it is nothing more than ‘ninety minute patriotism’. This article therefore investigates sport as a nation builder, with specifi c reference to South Africa as a divided, developing country