Politicization Of Sports In The 1900's
It is decidedly impossible to hold a serious discussion about sports without bringing up politics; the two subjects are permanently intertwined. In fact, the major political events of the 1900s had a profound effect on sporting events across the world. Sports played a multitude of roles during this time period, from being used as war propaganda to a tool of political manipulation to a symbol of freedom. From World War I to World War II, global conflicts dramatically increased the politicization of sporting events like the World Cup and Olympics, especially in Spain, where football represented a microcosm of the rest of broken Europe, so much so that these disputes have affected the way sports are presented today.
The century kicked off with …show more content…
There was also propaganda encouraging sportsmen to enlist in the army, not only because of their athletic prowess, but also because they did not have any family responsibilities that would keep them from joining the armed forces (Wall, 1914). Moreover, sports proved fruitful to the women who were working for the Allies in ammunition and supply factories, where the first female football teams were created (Jones, B. 2014). Over 900,000 women were employed in this manner, with matches organized between different factories and “in north-east England, a cup competition was established” (Mason, A. n.d. “9 Facts...”). One of the more famous female teams formed was Dick, Kerr’s Ladies FC in Preston, whose matches drew large crowds—larger, in fact, than men’s games held on the same day—until the Football Association (FA) banned women from using official fields in 1921, presumably due to worries that the women’s game could grow to be more popular than the men’s (Mason, A. n.d. “9 Facts...”). However, the biggest connection between sports and World War I was the 1916 Olympic Games, scheduled to take place in Berlin. Pierre de Coubertin, founder and then president of the International Olympic Committee, said that “barely two weeks had passed since the invasion of Belgium when [he] received proposals for
The century kicked off with …show more content…
There was also propaganda encouraging sportsmen to enlist in the army, not only because of their athletic prowess, but also because they did not have any family responsibilities that would keep them from joining the armed forces (Wall, 1914). Moreover, sports proved fruitful to the women who were working for the Allies in ammunition and supply factories, where the first female football teams were created (Jones, B. 2014). Over 900,000 women were employed in this manner, with matches organized between different factories and “in north-east England, a cup competition was established” (Mason, A. n.d. “9 Facts...”). One of the more famous female teams formed was Dick, Kerr’s Ladies FC in Preston, whose matches drew large crowds—larger, in fact, than men’s games held on the same day—until the Football Association (FA) banned women from using official fields in 1921, presumably due to worries that the women’s game could grow to be more popular than the men’s (Mason, A. n.d. “9 Facts...”). However, the biggest connection between sports and World War I was the 1916 Olympic Games, scheduled to take place in Berlin. Pierre de Coubertin, founder and then president of the International Olympic Committee, said that “barely two weeks had passed since the invasion of Belgium when [he] received proposals for