International Comparison of Social Movements Related to Sports: Focusing on Japan, Germany, and the United States

Hiroharu MATSUBARA, The University of Electro-Communications
Tomonori HASHIYAMA, The University of Electro-Communications

Spectator sports are gaining popularity in many countries as large-scale events. However, social movements of up to a million people, often by residents and sports fans, have been carried out against spectator sports. Specifically, social movements have been carried out many times regarding the pros and cons of holding global events such as the soccer World Cup and the Olympics, and the relocation of domestic league teams. The Bundesliga is very popular in Germany, and each club is managed by a non-profit organization called Verein. Each club in the Bundesliga has a deep historical connection to each city. Fans took anti-commercial action and social movements were launched against the team's owners and their participation in the Qatar World Cup. Professional baseball is very popular in Japan and is managed by corporations. In 2004, a 1.2 million signature campaign was carried out across Japan in opposition to the structural reform of professional baseball. In the United States, the four major sports such as MBL and NBA are popular, and the "relocation market" has been formed for team relocation. The government has actively intervened in the United States, and some cities have set time-limited taxes for stadium construction to attract teams. In this study, we analyzed social movements toward sports in three countries: Japan, Germany, and the United States, with two axes: local-national and professionalism-amateurism.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 144. Cultural Practices and Collective Mobilization