A2 The European Dimension in Sport

Chair: Richard Parrish (Edge Hill College, Liverpool)

Sport is one of the few areas of social activity that genuinely unites and divides Europeans. It is a passion shared by most yet it is an activity at the root of many national rivalries. Sport performs educational, public health, social, cultural and recreational functions and it is also a sizeable economic sector. For this reason the state has intervened in sport in order to elaborate various goals. In recent years attention has shifted to the growing significance of the European Union in matters of sports law and policy and the consequent impact of this involvement on ‘sporting autonomy’. Papers are invited for this panel that explore these issues. The panel is labelled ‘the European Dimension of Sport’ and contributors should note the broad nature of this call, although attention is drawn to the European Commission’s anticipated development of a White Paper on Sport in 2007. In this connection, papers of relevance to the broad themes of the White Paper are welcomed. These are; 'sports policy and governance', 'sports law and regulation', 'the societal role of sport' and ‘the economic impact of sport’. The panel welcomes studies covering all sports and invites submissions drawn from a wide range of academic perspectives.