Modern sport has become a global phenomenon. Major sporting events like the Olympics and World Cup are organized on a global scale and watched by millions throughout the world. But the impact of sport is global in other ways too, as it affects political relations, national prestige, and policies on education and health. Contrasts between sports across different societies have diminished, yet a growing diversity of sports cultures are available to people of different nations. In his major new work, Joseph Maguire develops a path-breaking account of sport in a global context, examining the changing nature of sport in relation to globalization. He develops an original theoretical perspective on sport and globalization, drawing on the work of Elias and others to develop a five-stage model of the emergence and global diffusion of modern sport. Global Sport draws on a range of international case studies - from Britain, Australia, and North America - on elite labour migration, media sport, sports industry and the environment, sport, politics and national identity. Maguire analyses the existing balance of power in the global sport process, and highlights the dynamics which will power its future. This book will appeal to second- and third-year undergraduates and postgraduates in sociology, media and cultural studies, social history and geography, and to students on courses on sport and leisure at Higher Education colleges and universities.