Sociology of Sport: Conceptual and Topical Issues

This paper is intended to encourage students and readers in general to think more critically about sports and how they are related to contemporary society. We emphasize socialization impacts of sports as well as increasing process of organization, commercialisation, and globalisation of sports. Sports are social constructions and particularly in a form presented in mass media are an integral part of modern way of life. It carries pleasure as well as sadness for millions of people. Sports are institutionalised competitive activities that involve rigorous physical exertion or the use of relatively complex physical skills by participant motivation, by personal enjoyment and external rewards. Global aspects of contemporary sports are discussed from the point of view of their technological, economical, medial and ideological dimensions.