Sport and the neo-liberal world order

Sport is a huge global enterprise worth nearly $150 billion annually. As a result international federations and other stakeholders are keen to maintain the veneer of integrity and morality in an idealized vision of sport. The value of sport and what it means to the operation of global sports federations and associated enterprises, most notably the International Olympic Committee (IOC); The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA); and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), is discussed. In this short viewpoint article I analyse the political economy underpinning the ‘war’ on athletes being waged at present in the name of ‘pure sport’. I argue that ‘pure sport’ and ‘level playing field’ are ideologies used to maintain the power position of major international sporting federations rather than an actual goal of these federations.