Permanent Secretariat

Tel: +34 93 553 89 58

sportcountries@gencat.cat

© Generalitat de Catalunya 2008

In many ways, the sport countries' main actors may benefit from a direct participation in the international sport system by not having to comply with the representation policies of the sovereign state and its sport federations. A sport country's athletes, coaches, sport managers and officials may suffer from systemic discrimination within a sovereign country's sport system. But they will overcome less obstacles in trying to reach the international sport level if they directly represent a sport country. The organizers of major sporting events as well as the leaders of the sport country's federations benefit from a direct communication with the international sport federations. They may also establish a partnership with international private companies, without intermediates. Direct access of the sport country to the international sport system promotes national identity development and a sense of belonging. In the globalization trend, a sport country's participation in the community of nations eases communication between local sport communities and other components of the world sport system. The sport countries' activities may also contribute to reaching other common goals of the state and civil society. Therefore, it may be advantageous for many reasons to give sport countries access to the international scene and take visible actions to obtain this recognition.