"Your Olympic team may be an illusion" in a transnational world [1]
Friday, August 12, 2016 - 13:43. Updated on Friday, August 12, 2016 - 19:20.
In an increasingly globalized world where people are citizens of more than one country, representation by athletes at nationalistic sporting events such as the Olympic Games is really made up of a fusion of international talent regardless of what flag they walk under.
But this transnational mobility often touches a sensitive chord, according to scholars Niko Besnier and Susan Brownell in Rio, who are writing on the culture, politics, and economics behind the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
“Your Olympic team may be an illusion,” they state in the anthropological journal Sapiens [2] on August 4. "While many people get caught up in the nationalistic pageantry of the opening ceremony, the reality of the international sports world today is one of increasingly fluid citizenship among athletes.”
The public may not realize the reality behind the scenes is that the majority of athletes marching under a country’s banner may not have been born or raised in that country and may have only lived there long enough to be considered a national in order to become a representative, which may be throwing nationalism out the window and embracing a new globalization.
“The parade of athletes displays a neat world order filled with proud, loyal citizens. But nations are not really the clear political units presented in this happy family portrait. Beneath the surface is a mess of transnational wheeling and dealing by power brokers as well as athletes seeking to get the most reward for their hard work and talent—for themselves and for their families and friends,” they state.
Despite the enormous transformations that most modern sports have undergone over the decades, the lofty ideals of fair play, allegiance to country, and financial disinterest continue to persist—and to uneasily rub up against the huge incomes earned by elite athletes in some sports and the ease with which they now switch countries.
Brawn drain
We’ve heard of the ‘brain drain’ where the brightest and intelligent in less developed countries are drawn to developed countries to escape poverty, further their careers and live a better life. Now Besnier and Brownell coin a ‘brawn drain’ happening across the globe with athletes snapped up by countries for similar reasons. It’s become a norm in team sports such as Rugby Union.
You only have to look at national teams around the world including New Zealand, Australia, USA and England to realize how many Pacific Islanders have been lured to play in those countries, which benefit the players and their families as well as those nations.
Pacific Island countries don’t have the wealth or the training facilities and personnel to achieve what developing nations can with athletes.
“Fiji, for example, has many talented rugby players but little money to support a rugby infrastructure of international quality; its most talented players often seek contracts in other countries. But Fijian rugby fans don’t see this as a problem. They cheer for whatever overseas team counts Fijian players on its squad.”
Even wealthy Persian Gulf states who have limited local talent are paying top dollar to attract athletes offering world class training facilities and the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics more easily than in their home countries.
“It is not just countries with limited local talent that are spending their way to winning teams. The United States, with its deep sporting traditions and its giant talent pool, has fast-tracked citizenship for some athletes who will be in Rio. Elite athletes who are in the U.S. Army can qualify for the World Class Athlete Program. The US track and field squad in Rio includes four athletes born in Kenya who benefited from this program.”
At the other end of the scale for poorer countries, local talent aren’t normally up to par to compete at an elite level due to lack of funds and training facilities, and they tend to be self-funded.
Tonga's team
Tonga’s Olympic team has athletes who are citizens of other countries. Out of its team of seven, only two were born and raised in Tonga, three were born overseas but raised in Tonga and two were born and raised overseas but are of Tongan heritage. Tonga’s citizenship law allows people of Tongan heritage (Tongan mother or father) who were born overseas the right to obtain Tongan citizenship. Tonga’s famous flag bearer in Rio, Pita Taufatofua, is a classic example. Pita was born in Australia, raised in Tonga and has dual citizenship in both countries.
Whatever the reason athletes represent countries not of their birth, patriotism in international sports is not what it once was.
Besnier and Susan Brownell conclude that sport offers opportunities to escape poverty and build a better life. But it is important not to lose sight of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that helps to open these doors.
“In reality, many 'national' teams are a conglomeration of international talent, at times acquired via corruption and political power struggles, and made possible by the vast wealth inequalities between the economic powers and the developing world. If the public understood this fact better, it might help build a stronger sense of global community. Given that the nation-state was responsible for a century of history’s most brutal wars and appalling crimes against humanity, we would all be better off if we jettisoned our nationalist worldviews. The Olympic Games are a good place to start,” they state.
Related article: Sapiens [2] (Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research).